RWBY: The Twin Dragons
by UNSCSPTN-G39
Summary: Yang Xiao Long has been expelled from Beacon, a powerful new weapon is unleashed upon the world, and the flames of conflict fuel one lost soul's thirst for revenge. Leaving her friends and family behind, Yang must find a new path in a Remnant on the brink of war and come face to face with a fate written into her very genes.
1. Fall

**Chapter 1:**

 **Fall**

Eight finalists stood upon the center stage of the massive flying Amity Colosseum. The final round in the Vytal Festival Tournament was about to begin. The crowd, seated stories high above the field of combat, was cheering on in excited anticipation. These eight Huntsman and Huntresses-in-training were the very best warriors the four academies of Remnant had to offer. And it was time to see who was the best of the best of the best truly was.

Yang Xiao Long smiled and put her hand on her hip in a confident pose. She was one of the eight finalists. Each battle there had been hard-fought and hard-won, but Yang had made it this far in the tournament thanks to her and her teammates' efforts. Now it was her turn to carry them and Beacon Academy all the way to the top. Victory and world-fame awaited at the finish line, and Yang was so close she could nearly taste it.

 _But I'm not doing this for the glory. I'm just here for the thrill of the fight!_

The stadium's intercom system came on, cutting through the deafening noise of the stadium. Professor Port, one of Yang's teachers at Beacon Academy, got on the mic. He spoke across the airwaves to everyone who had come all the way to Vale for the Vytal Festival and to everyone tuning in around the world.

 _"Barty, why don't you explain the rules!"_

 _"Ah, it's quite simple Peter."_ His colleague Dr. Oobleck explained to the audience. _"Instead of a bracket system, each round of the finals will be randomly determined immediately before the match takes place."_

 _"Much like any good hunt,"_ Port replied. _"There will be zero time to prepare."_

 _"Ah, yes, yes. Now let's see who our first match will be!"_

Spectators and competitors looked up at the huge screens at the top of the colosseum. Twin pictures of each finalist rolled like the reels on a slot machine as the upcoming match was chosen at random. Everyone watching held their breath, waiting to see who would be selected. The spinning reels began to slow, eventually coming to a halt with a chime and revealing the first fight of the tournament finals.

Two portraits stood on screen, both finalists standing before the symbol of their respective kingdoms. One from Vale, one from Mistral.

 _"Yang Xiao Long and Mercury Black!"_ Port announced.

She almost couldn't believe it, even when staring up at her own picture. Yang was going to be the in the first match of the finals. And she would be fighting against an acquaintance of hers. Mercury was one of the exchange students from Haven Academy, and their paths had crossed on more than one occasion in the days leading up to the Vytal Festival. They had even fought together during the Grimm invasion started by criminal-mastermind Roman Torchwick not that long ago.

"Break a leg, sis!" Yang heard her little sister Ruby shout from the stands where the rest of team RWBY sat to watch their teammate.

 _"Would all other combatants please leave the stage."_ Port said to the other six finalists.

As the others filed out, Yang passed her good friend and classmate from team JNPR, Pyrrha Nikos. Pyrrha hadn't been looking so hot when they had entered the stadium, like something was bothering her. Yang felt a little concerned, despite the bright smile she showed to the crowd. Yang wondered if she was just nervous about being in the finals, or if she was having romantic troubles with JNPR's clueless leader Jaune Arc. Again.

 _Poor Pyrrha. Jaune's about as dense as lead when it comes to girls. What's it going to take for that goofball to figure out that she's head-over-heels for him? I wonder if we should drop the bomb on him and get the ball rolling._

These idle concerns faded away with the fight ahead of her about to begin. Yang passed her other friend Sun Wukong, who gave her a smile for good luck as he walked by.

As Yang and Mercury approached each other, the center platform of the colosseum floor rose and hovered in mid-air. A circular light rig was suspended above them, with several spotlights coming on and bringing attention to center stage. The crowd continued to cheer, pumped and buzzing with excitement. The fight was about to begin.

"You better not go easy on me." Yang said to her opponent, with no small amount of friendly competitiveness in her voice.

Mercury huffed. "You wish."

The brief exchange reminded Yang of a conversation she had with Emerald, one of Mercury's teammates, at the festival grounds just a few days prior.

" _If Merc and I see you down the line,"_ Emerald had said. _"Don't think we'll go easy on ya'."_

" _Wouldn't have it any other way."_

And here they were, ready to duel and see who would come out the victor.

 _This is gonna' be fun! Bring it on, silver-boots!_

The two young warriors squared off, putting their hands up and preparing to trade blows. Yang stared Mercury down, looking straight into in his grey eyes and daring him to give it everything he had. He returned her glare in kind. This wouldn't be a sparring match in Professor Goodwitch's class. This would be a no-holds-barred fight to the finish. And there could be only one to come out on top.

" _Three."_ Port started the countdown.

" _Two."_

" _One."_

" _Fight!"_

They were off. Yang pulled back her fist to throw the opening punch, and Mercury twisted around to meet her attack with a powerful straight-on kick. Their Auras collided as the two shots connected, producing a shockwave that sent them both back a step. Mercury recovered first and rushed back in for another offensive.

The fight was short but intense. It was vicious hand-to-hand-to-foot combat, with some of their strikes shattering the tile at their feet. She used her Ember Celica as both a ranged and melee weapon, firing off crimson Dust shells from a distance and up-close. Mercury's boots flashed silver as he returned each and every salvo in similar fashion.

At one point, Yang had her opponent reeling back and managed to knock him off the platform. If he had hit the floor below, he would have lost the match. But Mercury came right back over the edge, riding a powerful blast from his boots. He landed in front of her and launched a counter-attack, putting Yang on the defensive. Mercury kicked her away, and followed with a blast from his boot.

Yang dodged the silver orb of death with a roll to the side, and came up to see Mercury kicking upward in all directions, firing his boots into the sky. Countless silver comets swirled above them like a dome of shooting-stars. Mercury countered a punch from Yang as she tried to get inside his guard, kicking her up into the air before sending her back down with another combo kick. Every one of the shooting-stars became meteors, falling on Yang as she hit the floor.

When the barrage from the heavens was finally over, Yang looked up through the fallout to see Mercury walking away, smugly dusting himself off as if he had already won the fight. That didn't just make her mad. It made her absolutely furious.

Yang stood and let her Semblance kick in, taking all her anger and the energy she had absorbed from the blows and converting into her own raw power. Fire erupted from her body in a literal inferno of pure rage, her eyes turned from their natural lilac to bright crimson. As Mercury turned around, Yang pounded her armored fists together and rushed to meet him.

Focused on nothing else, Yang forgot she was being spectated by an audience that spanned the entire world. Her brain filtered out the colosseum, the crowds, even the mere thought of defeat. All she could see was Mercury's mildly surprised face through her glowing blond bangs. The entire world condensed into singular, all-encompassing combat, allowing nothing else to penetrate her consciousness.

Her mind had reached the stage just short of _kill_.

She attacked her briefly stunned opponent, not relenting for even a moment. As he tried to muster a defensive round-house kick, Yang ducked under and got inside his reach. She delivered an unstoppable flurry of body-blows, throwing punch after punch, augmented by her Semblance. Mercury reeled back and was unable to resist, his Aura taking the onslaught before one final uppercut made it shimmer and break. He was knocked up into the air, and brought back down as Yang delivered the final blow right to his face.

Mercury skidded away across the ground as the buzzer sounded. He laid there, cradling his chest with one arm, and down for the count. A knock out.

The fight was over. Yang had won.

" _What a way to kick off the finals!"_ Port exclaimed over the intercom.

Yang exhaled, feeling her rage come down and her eyes return to normal. Then she smiled victoriously, raising his fist to the sky in triumph. She looked up at one of the screens, seeing her Aura meter just one point away from the limit while Mercury's was at dead zero. A narrow victory, but a victory nonetheless. The platform descended back to the stadium floor. The crowd roared on even louder, congratulating the victor and a fight well-fought.

 _I did it! I won! I hope Dad's watching._

"Yeah! You did it sis!" Ruby yelled from the sidelines.

"Way to go Yang!" Their teammate Blake followed, softly clapping.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Yang looked down at her defeated opponent. Mercury had managed to kneel, but was hunched over and trying to catch his breath.

"Better luck next time." Yang said as she turned to walk away.

"There's not going to be a next time, blondie."

She turned around to find Mercury, somehow able to move again, sailing through the air with a leg extended toward her. The fight was over, he had lost fair and square, but he was still intent to attack anyway.

Yang, still riding off the adrenaline high, immediately moved to intercept. She didn't think, she didn't stop herself from counter-attacking, didn't have the thought to simply step out of the way. She couldn't stop hard-wired reflex. Her brain was still in combat mode, and her body moved by pure reflex and instinct. Primal, animal action overrode everything else. Yang's mind had crossed the threshold, unable to process anything beyond a single command.

 _Kill or be killed._

Yang reached out, grabbed his leg, and pushed it away to the side. Then she raised her free hand, drawing back to throw a punch straight into her attacker's exposed torso. No redirection, no maneuver to take him down to the ground. Only lethal response.

 _Kill._

Her gauntlet connected, firing a shell right into Mercury's chest. Without any Aura left to protect the body, the round tore through the ribcage and the vital organs and tissues nestled inside. A plume of blood exploded like a geyser from his back, leaving no doubt of what internal damage was caused. His eyes went wide with agonizing pain, then darkened as life faded from him.

Mercury Black fell, dead before his body hit the floor.

Once again, the world outside faded from Yang's conscious mind. Everyone in the stadium, everyone on the face of Remnant, had seen what had really occurred in that moment. It was caught on camera, broadcasted for the entire world to see. To them, the onlookers, the audience, the tragedy was clear as day. They booed and cried out, terrified of the bloody reality before their eyes.

The shock, the horror, of what she had done had not registered yet in Yang's mind. She didn't even see the dead body lying in a pool of blood before her. There was only the cool, internal assessment of what had happened. It wasn't even conscious thinking, only happening at the deepest levels of her warrior's subconscious.

 _He attacked me, so I attacked back._

 _I'm alive. He's dead._

Suddenly, Yang found herself surrounded. Two Atlas soldiers and six Atlesian Knight combat drones flanked her on all sides, rifles raised and aimed at center mass.

"Huh?" Yang looked around, confused.

"Yang Xiao Long," One of the human soldiers shouted to her. "Stand down!"

"What!? Why!?" Yang said, still not comprehending what she had done.

She heard hurried footsteps approaching.

" _Mercury_!"

Emerald ran to the body of her teammate, her partner, her friend. She held his corpse, now lifeless and still, in her arms. Then she looked at his killer, his murderer, with just barely checked and restrained anger.

But Yang still had no idea what had happened. Why everyone was so afraid and upset. It was only when she looked up at the screen that she saw what had transpired to the outside world.

She saw herself walk by Mercury, who was just then standing, not moving to attack or do anything aggressive whatsoever. Then she saw herself casually turn, and then put a round in the unmoving man's chest. No attack, no preamble, no indication of a sudden turn. Just a girl turning around and killing a fellow student right then and there.

Then reality, delayed for long enough, came crashing down on her.

 _But that's not… That didn't… What have I done? WHAT HAVE I DONE!?_

Yang looked away from the gut-wrenching sight, only to find one that chilled her heart cold. She looked to her teammates in the stands. Ruby, Blake, Weiss. All three stood, horrified, uncomprehending what they were staring at. Who they were staring at. And it wasn't just them. Sun's team, Pyrrha's team, all of Yang's friends and classmates. Their eyes were all asking the same question. Every single one.

Even her little sister's.

" _Who is she?"_

Unable to meet their gaze, and unable to look around for anyone who might believe her, Yang looked down to her own two hands.

Her right hand, the one she had used to deliver that fatal punch, was covered in blood. Mercury's blood. Her leather glove was soaked through, and flecks of red stained the yellow surface and barrel of Ember Celica. There was blood on her jacket, her belt, her bare chest where her cleavage was exposed.

Blood.

Blood that she had spilled.

With her own hands.

* * *

Somewhere in the shadows of Remnant, someone watched the live feed from Amity Colosseum. But rather than recoil with shock and revulsion, he stared straight on, completely unfazed by the grisly sight that would make most men wretch. He had seen far worse.

 _So, she has it in her after all._

He picked up his Scroll and dialed a number, putting the device to his ear and listening to the tone.

"Begin the test." The young man said as soon as the receiver picked up.

"Yes sir." They replied.

He thumbed the end-call button without another word. Everything was proceeding as planned. In a few hours, Remnant as the world knew it would change forever. This tragic little incident during the Vytal Festival tournament was actually inconsequential to his ultimate objective. He only watched out of an appreciation of the fighting arts and a dark, morbid curiosity cultivated by years spent away from the light of so-called "peace".

 _Oh, I'm sure she'll say she was attacked first. She was raised in a comfy home, to a loving father and a surrogate mother who cared for her every day. It always starts as self-defense. But let's see which path she'll choose now. The path of light, or the path of dark._

 _Let's see if you and I are truly the same, Yang Xiao Long._

Yes, everything was going according to plan. All it took was a small push for a person to become a killer. One small event was all a war needed to begin. And soon enough, the man in the shadows would have his revenge on a peaceful world that had cast him out long ago.


	2. Push

**Chapter 2:**

 **Push**

Yang felt tired. Completely and utterly exhausted. Even after leaving the stadium and getting out of the eye of a frightened and judging public, she still couldn't shake the past few hours out of her head. The fight. The assault. The revelation.

The body.

The last Yang saw of Mercury, his body had been covered with a sheet and carried off on a stretcher by the paramedics. Then she had been led away by Atlas soldiers at gunpoint. Like a criminal. Like a murderer.

 _Maybe I am one…_

They took her back to the dorms at Beacon and let her have a shower, under tight security. The blood came off her body easily enough. It hadn't even dried yet. But they'd confiscated her bloodstained clothes as evidence. They took Ember Celica as well. She was in pajamas the soldiers had retrieved from her team's room. Clean, recently washed, and bearing no bloodstains.

But the stain on her mind, on her heart, wouldn't wash away.

She felt naked. Exposed. Nothing left to cover her.

After the shower, Yang was taken back to her room. They pulled the curtains so no one could see in or out. They stripped the room of anything that could be used as a weapon or contact the outside world. They posted two Knights in the room, with more robots and soldiers outside in the hallway. Yang sat on the bed, waiting for someone to come along and tell her she was going to jail. She felt like she was already in prison.

And she was. In her heart.

Eventually, after what felt like a lifetime, her teammates walked into the room. None of them looked her in the eye as they sat on the makeshift bunk beds. Ruby sat down next to her sister, without a word, dead silent. Weiss and Blake sat together on the bed opposite. They were followed in by General Ironwood, the Atlas academy headmaster and military commander in charge of security for the Vytal Festival.

"Leave us." He said to the Knights. Obediently, the drones withdrew from the room.

The General stood in front of Yang, gazing intently upon the young student. As if he were searching for something. Something that would prove she wasn't hallucinating and had every right to retaliate against her assailant. That would prove she was telling the truth.

She guessed he didn't find it. She was all out of hope that anyone would believe her.

"I'm sorry," Ironwood said aloud. "But you've left us with no choice."

"But he attacked me!" Yang exclaimed, her weak-willed anger finally boiling to the surface.

"Video footage and millions of viewers," He replied as he paced the center of the room. "Say otherwise."

Yang's brief flash of rage quickly evaporated. She put her hear in her hands. Not because she was faced with the truth of her actions. Not because Ironwood, a stranger if not an authority figure, didn't believe her. But because none of her teammates, her friends, her _sisters_ , stood up to say, "But Yang would never do that!"

Ironwood sighed and turned back to the three girls and the accused murderer.

"You all seem like good students." He began. "And the staff here at Beacon are fully aware that you would never lash out the way you did. Under normal circumstances. But I believe, and hope this to be, nothing more than the result of stress and adrenaline. When you're out on the battlefield, your judgement can become clouded in an instant. Sometimes you see things that simply aren't there. Even after the fight has passed."

Yang guess he would know, being a soldier and all. But that didn't change how she felt. Or what she saw, or thought she saw.

"But I wasn't-!" Yang tried in vain to protest.

"That's _enough_!" Ironwood firmly interjected, cutting her off with a voice of authority.

After the General regained his composure, he continued.

"The sad truth is, whether it was an accident, or a murder, it doesn't matter. The world saw you attack and kill an innocent student. They've already drawn their own conclusions. And it's my job to inform you that…"

 _This is it. Here it comes._

"You're disqualified, and you're being expelled from Beacon Academy."

Yang had no words. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to do. She didn't even know what to think. But she had no choice but to accept the consequences of her actions. Intentional or otherwise.

"No charges will be pressed." Ironwood said back to her as he began to leave the room. "But you are to leave the school grounds before midnight tonight. Pack your belongings. You're going home."

And with that, General Ironwood stepped out of the room. Yang could hear him quietly order his men and machines out of the hallway.

 _Is that it? No arrest? No prison? I just get to go home to Patch and live the rest of my life like this?_

Yang looked around at the other members of team RWBY. Still not one of them would return her pleading, sorrowful gaze.

"You guys believe me…"

She started to ask the question. But she already knew the answer.

"Right?"

Silence.

No one said a word. None of the girls Yang had grown so attached and close to spoke up with kind or comforting words to say. No "Duh!" or "Of course!" passed their lips. Not even a cautious "I want to believe you."

Not a word.

"So that's it then?" Yang said with the last gram of anger she could drag up. "None of you? Nothing?"

She didn't even wait for a response. Yang got off the bed, leaving her little sister to breath shallowly and think in silence. She walked passed Weiss and Blake, who just sat there looking withdrawn and uncommitted to saying anything that indicated how they truly felt. She into the closet, changing into regular clothes, intent to get out of that room full of people who had already given up on her as a human being.

When Yang stepped back into the room, Ruby was laying up on her top bunk, facing toward the wall and away from her sister. Weiss and Blake hadn't even moved. And as she walked to the door to leave, no one said anything or even pretended to stop her from leaving.

"I'm going for a walk." Yang said, not looking back over her shoulder. "Come find me when you're ready to give a damn."

She stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind her. Leaving the friends, the family, she once had behind her.

As Yang turned to walk down the hall, she found the four members of team JNPR facing her. Pyrrha still looked like she had something on her mind, which was now coupled with Yang's apparent sociopathy. Ren and Nora looked genuinely concerned, but like everyone else, they kept their distance. And Jaune couldn't even bring his blond head up to face her.

Three people passed by her and entered their room across the hall from the one that had once been hers. First Pyrrha, followed by Nora, and finally Ren. More friends, pieces of her life, drifted away from her like dust in the wind.

Only Jaune remained standing with Yang in the hall.

"Are you going to be okay?" Jaune asked, now looking her straight in the eye as best her could, with a face that said he was trying to reach out and lend a hand to his friend.

"Yeah." Yang replied softly. "I just… need to figure some things out."

She couldn't understand it. How come, out of all the friends she was closest to, why was Jaune Arc of all people the only one who could manage to even say something to her? She had picked on him, made fun of him, and even generally avoided him throughout the school year. She had never seriously tried to hurt him, but she felt responsible all the same. Jaune must have been a greatly empathetic person to care where so many others just walked away.

But even that kind of empathy only went so far.

Yang walked past him, leaving quite possibly the only friend she had left behind her as well.

"Hey Jaune?" Yang said, stopping to look back past her long blond hair. "Something's bothering Pyrrha. I think you should talk to her. But not as a friend. She needs you. She wants you. She's been waiting for a long time now."

Jaune looked stunned for a moment, before more sadness overrode his surprise. He turned to his door for a wistful moment, realization finally dawning on him as months of clues began to piece themselves together in his head. After a few seconds, he looked away and back down the hall.

But Yang was already gone.

* * *

Yang aimlessly strolled around the Beacon grounds, trying to walk on her thoughts. Hoping to run into someone who cared enough to try and comfort her. Hoping that someone, anyone, would come find her and take her away from all the pain and sadness building up on the campus.

But no one ever came.

 _Is this why she left?_

Yang's thoughts drifted to her mother. Her biological mother. Not Ruby's mom, Summer Rose, who was gone now too. Raven Branwen. Uncle Qrow's sister. Her father Taiyang's first love. She had left him and their daughter when Yang was very young. Yang didn't have memories of what she looked or sounded like. She'd only seen her mother in person once. When she'd saved her daughter from one of Roman Torchwick's henchmen a few months ago.

 _Is that why Mom left me? Did she see that in me?_

 _Did she know I'd become a killer?_

It never even occurred to Yang that she may have murderous tendencies. She was a fighter, a warrior, and she had one hell of a temper. Her Semblance was based on her rage, her fury giving Yang an advantage on the battlefield. The angrier she got, the harder she fought, the more powerful she became in combat.

And she didn't become a Huntress because she wanted to be a hero. Yang had told her team at Mt. Glenn that she was just a thrill seeker. That she was in it for the adventure, the adrenaline rush.

 _What if I just enjoy fighting? What if I'm just bloodthirsty? What if I got into this just so I could…_

 _Kill._

Looking back, Yang tried to think if she had ever killed anyone by accident. She had killed plenty of Grimm before, but she tried to remember if she had ever unintentionally taken another human life before. She had beat up goons in Junior's night club. She had fought White Fang soldiers working for Torchwick. She'd punched and blasted her way through dozens of people. Sometimes to the point where they couldn't have survived.

 _But I never went back to see if any of them died._

 _What if I just don't care?_

Yang walked alone, mired in her downward spiral of self-recrimination. At some point in her wandering, she had entered the massive plaza that surrounded the Vale Cross Continental Transit tower, which also doubled as Headmaster Ozpin's offices in Beacon Tower. Not many people were about, with the sun going down and a murderer let loose on the streets. Yang had been wondering if anyone would try to come and get revenge for Mercury at some point.

Deep down, she wanted them to. She didn't want to live with the pain and the regret as she watched her entire life fall apart around her.

 _I've been abandoned. Again. But this time, it's not just my mother. It's everyone I know._

Yang wondered what her father was doing right now. If he was trying to call her. She'd left her Scroll back in her room. He hadn't tried to call earlier. Maybe he was on a mission somewhere. Maybe he didn't even know what happened yet.

Yang would likely never know.

She debated with herself on what to do. She couldn't stay at the school anymore, with or without the expulsion. She could go home, to their family house on the island of Patch. But eventually, she'd have to see Ruby again. Yang couldn't bear to live with a sister that thought of her as one of the monsters they used to fight together.

 _What if I just… ran away? I'm pretty much a criminal now. I've got street smarts. Maybe I can go somewhere, start a new life. Somewhere else. Anywhere else._

But she knew the nightmares would never go away.

 _Or what if I just end it?_

Yang looked down that dark road, considered it for a more than a moment, but somehow managed to turn back.

 _No. I can't go just yet. I can start over. Be someone else. I can dye my hair. I can go to another city, another kingdom. I can get a job bartending or something. I can make a life. Not a better one. Maybe not even a good one. But a life._

She stopped under one of the trees that was scattered across the park at the base of the tower. She didn't want to run anywhere. And she didn't have anywhere to run to.

 _I don't know what to do._

Out of the corner of her eye, Yang saw Jaune and Pyrrha strolling around. They were holding each other's hands, looking like a completely normal couple who didn't have a combat-junkie friend who just killed someone. Pyrrha was smiling, unburdened and happy to finally be with the guy she'd been patiently waiting for. And Jaune seemed to be filling the role of comforting boyfriend just fine.

 _Well, that was fast. The loser and the champion. Look at you Xiao Long. Making the impossible possible._

Yang smiled for the first time in hours, happy that she had at least brought someone a little sunshine before she left for… wherever she was going.

 _At least they have a future together._

And then a second sun appeared on the horizon.


	3. Path

**Chapter 3:**

 **Path**

Heian stood with his arms crossed, watching his men go about their duties in the control room. Events were proceeding quickly and with military precision since they had confirmed the successful detonation. Now the control crew was processing conflicting reports from a frightened and unaware public news media as well as their own forces deployed to the test site.

"Away team just radioed in, sir." Wallace Wintergreen, Heian's second-in-command, reported. "Target site is clean. There's nothing left of Mountain Glenn but a smoldering crater."

"Excellent." Heian replied, pleased with an operation done correctly and covertly. "Tell the men to _bang out_ and return to base."

The older soldier rolled his eyes at the young commander's bad pun.

Aside from being abandoned and empty, Heian had no practical or strategic reason for using Mt. Glenn as the proving ground for the newest and most powerful weapon in his arsenal. For him, the decision to destroy the forgotten expansion of Vale was a personal one. He saw the tragedy of Mt. Glenn as an insult. To the people of Vale, whom the council was sworn to protect at all costs. And ultimately, to soldiers like himself.

 _You left your citizens to die there. Not even Ozpin's precious circus of Huntsmen and Huntresses could save them. Had you a real army, then so many would not have died needlessly. You won't even go to war to save your own people. It is your fear of conflict that doomed them to their grim demise._

 _Well, I just wiped your fear off the map._

"So, we have the most powerful piece of ordnance ever developed by human hands," Wintergreen mused as if providing exposition for a story. "And experimental data that proves it works as designed. What's the plan now, sir?"

Heian's plan was actually quite simple, his singular ambition driven by his life's only purpose, the one reason for his existence.

War.

"We wait for the battle to begin." Heian explained to the elder lieutenant. "A new and terrifying weapon of mass destruction and unknown quantity has just been revealed to the world. Atlas, as you well know, will be on high alert and scrambling to figure out who developed and deployed this awe-inspiring weapon. And if General Ironwood suspects Vale, then our time table may be accelerated. In any case, we will observe and bide our time for now. Eventually, all the kingdoms of Remnant will be at each other's throats. It will be the Great War all over again."

Wintergreen regarded him quizzically, unsure of what his commander had envisioned, but remained silent.

Heian hated the world as it was. A world that celebrated peace. A shameful status quo that rejected violence and conflict yet expected to be protected by trained warriors. He saw proof of this in the public's fear of Yang Xiao Long. Someone who had been trained and conditioned for combat and lethality as a Huntress, entirely for their own security. Not too unlike himself. In more ways than one.

The very thought of the empty farce called "peace" disgusted him to his very core.

 _We live in a world where the creatures of Grimm and human enemies surround us on all sides, and yet you expect the warriors you call to defend you to lay down and die when we are no longer useful? Hypocrites! You even celebrate the end of a war with a tournament of professional warriors! Remnant is not what it used to be. War is not what it used to be._

 _I will bring chaos and honor back to this world gone soft!_

The seventeen-year-old soldier, born and fated to walk no other path in life, sought only one objective. One destiny.

A world where warriors and soldiers always had a place.

* * *

"Hey there firecracker."

Yang hadn't heard her Uncle Qrow come into her now former dorm room. She had been sitting on the bed deep in thought, replaying the distant explosion in her mind.

One moment the sunset painted the autumn sky orange and pink. The next, a massive blinding fireball erupted on the horizon to the south-east. After the earsplitting roar and the earthquake ended, Amity Colosseum had been immediately evacuated and the Vytal Tournament had been put on hold. The Atlas forces stationed in Vale were on high alert, waiting to see if an attack followed the unexpected cataclysmic event. Nothing had happened so far.

The news reports were saying Mt. Glenn was gone. Just… gone.

 _Was it Roman Torchwick? The White Fang? Did we somehow miss the Mother of all Bombs when we attacked their hideout? The train was loaded with enough Dust to bust through the tunnels. But enough to destroy a city? Were they planning on detonating that in Vale? Did Vale even have that much Dust to steal in the first place?_

 _I guess it doesn't matter now._

"Hey Qrow." Yang finally replied to her uncle.

"So… why'd you do it?"

Yang had spent the last few stressful hours wondering when someone would finally speak to her and ask the question. But she didn't have an answer.

"I don't know. I saw him attack me, and I… fought back."

"All I saw was you kill a helpless kid." Qrow said bluntly, pushing himself off the wall right of the doorframe. "So you're either lying, or you're crazy."

 _I'm not lying. I'm not crazy. I'm not a murderer._

 _Am I?_

"Who knows?" Yang said, bitterly torn by her fears. "Maybe I am."

Qrow walked slowly to the space between the bunkbeds, pacing in front of his niece, tattered red cape trailing in his brooding wake.

"And here I thought your dark-haired friend was the emo one." He said, referring to Blake. Yang's teammates hadn't returned yet. Weiss and Blake had gone to the fairgrounds, before the mysterious explosion put everything on lockdown. Ruby had wandered off somewhere. Part of Yang hoped her sister was okay, while another part wondered if she still had a sister at all.

"I saw my Mom." Yang confessed, wanting to get at least one burden off her tired and weary shoulders.

That made her uncle stop pacing and turn back to her with an expression that radiated surprise, worry, and dread.

"I – I was in a lot of trouble." Yang began, remembering what happened on the underground train headed for Vale. "Took a pretty hard hit. But when I came to, the person attacking me was gone. And I thought I saw… her. Her sword."

She turned to her uncle, facing away from her, hands in his pockets.

"Like the one in you and Dad's old picture."

A few days ago, when Qrow suddenly appeared out of nowhere at Beacon, he had shown Yang and Ruby the same picture their Dad had framed back in Patch. The creased, faded photograph of Qrow, Summer, Raven, and Taiyang during their days together as Team STRQ. They had looked so confident in that photo, like they believed that nothing in the world could stop them and they would be together forever.

 _What happened to them? What made them split up?_

Qrow tsked.

"You're not crazy, Yang."

 _Glad at least one person thinks so._

"That was your Mom alright." Qrow confirmed. "Let me guess. She didn't say a word, did she?"

"How did you know that?"

"I don't see my sister very often, but she does try to keep in touch. Whenever it suits her."

That caught her off-guard. Yang thought that her mother had cut all ties with their family when she was little. To hear that her uncle contacted her recently, and possibly regularly, was one of the last things Yang expected to hear.

"Wait, you mean you talked to her? That was real!?"

"Yeah, she found me. Had a tip for my most recent assignment, and wanted me to give you a message."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner!?" Yang questioned, angry that the woman she'd spent so much of her childhood trying to find had a message for her after all these years and couldn't even be bothered to tell her in person.

"I was trying to wait for the right time. And this sure ain't it. But I guess you deserve to know."

Qrow stopped and looked his niece right in the eye.

"She wanted me to tell you that she saved you once. But you shouldn't expect that kindness again."

 _Why? Why now? Why didn't she just stay? Why'd she wait until I was about to be killed before stepping in to save me?_

 _Does she even care about me!?_

Yang cast her eyes downward, her hands on her lap, hurt and confused beyond all measure. Her heart ached from all the barely held sorrow on the verge of gushing forth. She felt tears start to form in her eyes, the pain and rage and sheer loneliness about to be unleashed. But she held it back, and listened to Uncle Qrow continue talking.

"Raven's got an interesting way of looking at the world that I don't particularly agree with. And she's dangerous."

 _So am I. I got that from her, didn't I?_

"You made a mistake. Sometimes bad things just happen. I say it's time you move on."

"Move on to what?" Yang asked, to herself as much as her uncle.

Qrow leaned against the window sill and looked out at the night sky above Beacon.

"Well, Raven let some info slip before she took off. If you ever wanna' track her down, I think I might be able to help."

Yesterday, even a few hours ago, Yang would have jumped on the chance to see her long-lost mother without a second thought. For so long, ever since she was little, Yang had never given up on the search. She'd blown up a nightclub trying to follow leads. She once put herself and Ruby in danger to find answers when they were just little girls. The unanswered questions had burned like embers in her mind every single day. That quest had been a defining part of her childhood, her life, up until that point.

But now, after everything she'd been told and been through, Yang wasn't so sure it was worth it anymore. She wasn't even sure if she deserved it anymore. The little hints Qrow just gave her pointed to a painful truth that wasn't at all what she wanted.

 _It's time to move on._

"I don't want to find her anymore." Yang said, letting a piece of who she was before flow out the window and into the wind. "I don't care anymore. I just want to start over."

Qrow nodded to himself, understanding her feelings completely.

"Ozpin told me you were being expelled. He didn't want to, but we didn't have much of a choice. There's a lot going on right now, with the largest explosion in recorded history on our doorstep, Ironwood going into full military-grade paranoia, and… a bunch of other stuff."

He pushed himself up and turned to niece he had help raise like a daughter since the day she was born.

"Look, I can take you as far as Vale. Where you go from there…"

Yang looked up and met Qrow's comforting, fatherly red eyes. Even after she had killed someone, his unconditional care for her never faded. Not even for a moment.

"Is up to you."

* * *

Yang and Qrow left Beacon campus, taking an airship to the main city of Vale. She had left most of her belongings behind in the dorm, including her Scroll, only taking a saddlebag's worth of clothes and whatever spare Lien she had to her name. When they landed in Vale, Yang brought her motorcycle Bumblebee out of storage. They stood alone on an empty street, barely lit by street lamps and dead quiet in the night air.

 _This is it. After tonight, I'm not going home. I'll probably never see Ruby, Dad, or Zwei again. I'll never see Weiss and Blake again. I'll never get to see Jaune and Pyrrha be happy together. I'll never get to see Ruby graduate from Beacon and become a Huntress just like she always wanted._

 _I'm going to disappear from their lives._

Yang mounted her bike, as ready as she could be for the long journey ahead. She had no idea where the road would take her, or where she would wind up at the end of it. She didn't want to leave, but she felt like she had to. Something inside her had changed forever the moment Mercury died. The moment she killed him. It didn't matter if what Yang saw was real or not. She had made her choice.

And now she had to live with the consequences.

"Anything you want me to tell them?" Qrow asked, sadness tinging his usually sarcastic voice.

On the flight, Yang had thought long and hard about how to answer that difficult question. She thought about saying she was sorry, to take care, and not to worry about her. She thought about saying to Dad, "I'm sorry I didn't come home. I love you." She thought about saying to Ruby, "I'm so sorry. Live your own life. You don't need your Big Sister anymore." And saying she loved Ruby too. So much so it hurt just to walk away from the room the once shared.

But the words stuck in her throat.

"Tell them to forget about me." Yang finally managed to say, staring off into the dark horizon with no destination in mind.

 _I wonder if you felt like this when you left. Summer? Raven? Do you regret leaving your family and never coming home?_

Yang knew what Summer, who had been more like a Mom to her than Raven ever had, would have said. She wasn't sure if her birth mother even gave a damn.

"Okay." Qrow said softly, stepping away from the bike and onto the sidewalk. "Take care, kiddo."

They looked into each other's eyes, exchanging a silent farewell. Yang was so close to tears, her eyes burned like fire trying to keep them at bay. Qrow's forlorn eyes were filled with enough sorrow to last a lifetime. He'd had far too many partings like this.

But neither of them had tears left to shed.

"Goodbye, Uncle Qrow."

Revving Bumblebee's faithful engine, Yang rode off into the night, leaving her Uncle and old life behind her. She was set on a new path, a new destiny.

Even if she didn't know where it would take her.


	4. Ember

**Chapter 4:**

 **Ember**

"Oh, I didn't…"

"From the woman upstairs. Red eyes." The waitress said after setting the sweating glass of alcohol on the table in front of him. "Said you wouldn't mind bottom shelf."

Qrow looked over his shoulder at the inside balcony above the bar.

Y _ou've got to be kidding me. Why the hell is she here?_

 _And more importantly, what does she want?_

"Thanks." He said, turning his tired gaze back to the worn wood tabletop.

"But I went ahead and gave you top." The waitress leaned forward and gave him a flirtatious wink. "Lucky you."

Qrow smiled as warmly as he could manage as she walked away, then shifted his attention to the window where he had a view of the inn across the road.

Ruby and her friends were out of sight, safely boarded up for the night and sheltered from the storm that rained down upon the town of Higanbana. Ruby, Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren had traveled to Mistral for summer vacation. Qrow had been following his niece and her loyal companions for a while now, discreetly and from a distance. He didn't trust his own Semblance around them, or anyone else he cared about for that matter, but he wanted to watch over them in case Grimm attacked on the long road to Haven Academy.

Or worse.

 _Salem's still out there, plotting who knows what. But that explosion in Mountain Glenn seems to have put her plans on hold for now. We'll have to wait until she makes the next move. Oz will call me when he needs me._

 _First things first…_

"Yeah." Qrow said to himself, picking up his glass of whiskey on the rocks and crossing the dimly lit tavern drinking room to the staircase that led up to the balcony. He didn't particularly believe in luck, and silently wished he was at least buzzed for what he imagined to be an unpleasant conversation with a woman that only spoke to him when it served her own selfish interests. She was not one for social visits.

When he reached the top of the stairs, Qrow found Raven Branwen, his long absent twin sister, sitting at a table facing him.

"Hello, brother."

She had a small smile on her pale face, and her red eyes regarded him with a gaze that was equal parts amusement and quiet ferocity.

That was usually a bad sign.

 _This is going to be fun, I can already tell._

"Raven."

Qrow walked over and pulled out a chair, then looked pointedly at the white Grimm mask placed in the middle of the table. Raven rolled her eyes and huffed, sliding the offending object aside. He noticed her sword was sheathed and leaning against the wall behind her, just out of reach but still close enough to draw should things come to that. That was as close a show of nonviolent intent as she would ever willingly give. But even still, Qrow didn't trust her or her motivations for being there one bit, especially with Ruby nearby.

He never had, if he was being perfectly honest with himself.

"So," Qrow began as he sat down across from his sister. "What do you want?"

"A girl can't just catch up with her family?" Raven said lightly, hands held palm up away from her shoulders.

That severely irritated Qrow in about three different ways. There were specific names that went with them. And if he shape-shifted to his crow form, his feathers would have been rustled in barely checked and long acquainted anger.

 _Family? What the fuck do you know about family?_

"She can, but you're not. How 'bout we get on with it?"

He took a sip from his whiskey, sarcastically feigning good humor that he was not at all in the mood for at the moment.

"Unless you plan on keeping these coming."

She watched him place the glass on the table before continuing.

"Does he have it?"

Qrow ran his finger around the rim of his glass, knowing exactly who she was talking about. Things must have been bad for her to talk about him out loud or even acknowledge his existence at all. But Qrow had something to say before that particular subject was discussed.

"Did you know Yang was kicked out of Beacon?"

Raven didn't even flinch at the question.

"That not-"

"Rhetorical question. I know you know. It's just obnoxious that you bring up family then carry on like your own child doesn't exist."

"I saved her." She replied, as if that somehow absolved her of all responsibility as a mother and a decent human being.

"Once. Because that was your rule, right? Real 'Mom of the Year' material, sis."

Raven leaned out of her seat and grabbed his arm as it went for the drink.

"I told you Yang would kill someone, and she did." Raven growled quietly, angrily and directly. "I told you he would come after me, and he has. Now you tell me. Does. Heian. Have it?"

"I thought you didn't care about him."

She looked her brother in the eye, focused and serious and dangerously narrow-minded as ever.

"I just want to know what we are up against."

"And which ' _we_ ' are you referring to?"

Raven let go of his wrist with a menacing glare and sat back in her chair. Her and Qrow's former "family" had always been a touchy subject between them, to say the very least. The Branwen twins had been raised by a tribe of bandits in the wilds of Mistral, their earliest memories killings and stealing to survive as part of the clan. Qrow had cut all ties with them when he became a Huntsman. Raven had gone back to lead them almost right after Yang was born, leaving her own daughter and Taiyang behind in Patch. That, along with so many other reasons, had caused a large rift between them.

 _You took Heian's family away and left him to die. Twice. Made his life a living Hell. No wonder he's messed up and hates the world._

 _And he hates you the most._

"You should come back, Raven" Qrow said with an exacerbated sigh. "The only way we beat him is by working together."

"You're the one who left." Raven said accusingly. "The tribe raised us, and you turned your back on them."

"They were killers and thieves."

"They were your _family_." She replied, undeterred and apparently incapable of understanding a single word that came out of Qrow's mouth.

"You have a _very_ skewed perception of that word."

Raven stood up to her full height, placing an armored hand on her chest as if she was absolutely convinced she was doing the right thing. And he was pretty damn sure that she truly believed she was. Taiyang, even after everything that had happened between them, still admired Raven for her utter devotion for whatever cause she bothered to fight for. But Qrow knew that she would mercilessly destroy any and all obstacles to get what she wanted, regardless of what or who those obstacles turned out to be.

"I lead our people now." Raven declared. "And as leader I will do _everything_ in my power to ensure our survival."

"I saw. The people of Shion saw too." Qrow said, speaking of the unfortunate village that her tribe raided and left to the Grimm days earlier. He had seen the devastation first hand. The charred and crumbling buildings, the broken corpses lying on the ground, the body of the brave Huntsman who had died valiantly defending the villagers. Qrow couldn't shake the haunting images out of his head.

The cost of Raven's loyalty and ambition.

"The weak die, the strong live. Those are the rules."

That was how she saw the world. Black and white. Strength and weakness. Victory or defeat. Life or death. Nothing in between.

More often than not, Qrow fundamentally disagreed with his sister's sharp and unforgiving moral compass. Or lack thereof. It was the kind that killed innocent people without a second thought and sent lost and helpless kids like Heian down dark paths of mutually assured self-destruction.

"If you don't know where the weapon is," Raven put a hand on her mask to leave. "Then we have nothing left to talk about."

Qrow reached out over the table and caught the mask.

"Ironwood filled me in on the details. I don't know where Heian is. But if you do, I need you to tell me."

"And why would I do that?" Raven pulled the mask out from under his grip.

"Because if you don't we're all going to die."

A lantern to Qrow's right went out, and Raven regarded him with a mirthlessly condescending smile. Her eyes were as cold as the ice in his drink, if not colder, utterly uncaring about anyone or anything that didn't fit into Raven's narrow definition of her and hers.

"And which ' _we_ ' are you referring to?"

She donned her mask and turned to walk away toward the side of the building opposite the staircase. Qrow looked away bitterly for a moment, very nearly mad enough to go after her and make his sister see sense the hard way. When he looked back up, Raven had drawn her sword and slashed at the air, opening a swirling blood-red portal. She stepped inside the crimson void and disappeared, leaving Qrow alone on the balcony as the portal closed behind her.

 _Stubborn to the end, Raven…_

 _That's going to get us all killed._

He heard a gasp and the sound of breaking glass behind him.

Qrow turned to see the waitress staring in frightened shock at where the portal had been. Her terrified gaze shifted to him and she took a small step backwards, as if afraid he was going to kill her for seeing too much of whatever she had just witnessed.

Turning in his seat, he indicated his barely touched glass of whiskey.

"Make this one a double."

* * *

 _What am I going to do?_

That was a question Yang had been asking herself for months. She idly stared into her little campfire, lost in thought, trying to find answers in the orange flames. All she heard in reply was the crackling and hissing of burning wood. It was a cool summer night, a gentle breeze blew through the trees, and the sky was clear of clouds and the stars shined brightly up in the heavens.

The light pollution from Vale had all but obscured them in the city, but Yang remembered laying out on the grass at night with Ruby while they were kids in Patch, gazing up at the starry sky and dreaming.

The happy memories didn't comfort Yang as she sat leaning against her bike and watching the fire. And every thought of the little sister she'd practically raised made her heart ache anew. She missed Ruby like nothing else.

 _But I can't go back. Not now. Not ever._

Since Yang had left Beacon and Vale behind, she'd drifted around the edges of the kingdom, taking whatever work and food she could find wherever they were to be found. But she never stayed in one place for long, never settling anywhere. She didn't feel like her normal fiery and confident self anymore. Yang only felt like a shadow of who she once was.

She felt lost.

There was a time in her life, not that long ago in fact, when she wanted to live not knowing what the future would bring. That had been her romanticized vision of being a Huntress. No ultimate goal. Just going with the flow. All she ever wanted was a life of crazy adventure, never once thinking that the adventure would end as suddenly and tragically as it did.

 _I don't know what to do._

Now Yang longed for was sense of direction. Some purpose to take her mind off the pain and regret. Something that took her away from the emptiness and sadness that had come to take the place of everyone and everything she'd always known.

 _I need to keep moving forward._

Qrow's words came back to her in the weakest moments. Yang still desperately held on to a little ember of hope that there was something or someone out there worth living for. But she had no idea where in the world that could be, or if she would ever find it.

She didn't know if she even deserved to find it anymore.

* * *

Yang had just barely drifted to sleep when she heard soft footsteps rustle in the grass.

She opened her eyes and looked up. The fire had died down, leaving only dull embers still burning in the charred logs and ash. It was dark in the grassy field where she had her make shift campsite, but the broken moon was bright enough to at least see vague outlines of the trees against the dark sky. Yang eyes darted around her surroundings, searching for the source of the sound that had awoken her.

Opposite the fire pit from her, she could make out the dark silhouette of someone slowly approaching out of the gloom. Like a shadow walking across the dark fabric of the night.

"Who's there!?" Yang called out, jumping to her feet and instinctively raising her fists.

A long blade, tinted the color of blood against the darkness, appeared from the shadow's hip as it was drawn from its sheath.

 _Wait a sec, I know that sword…_

Suddenly, the fire ignited and burned bright once again, bathing the clearing in flickering orange light.

And on the other side of the fire stood someone Yang had only seen in person once before. On the train in Mountain Glenn. When Yang was on a knife's edge between life and death at the hands of her enemy. She'd only caught a hazy, barely conscious glimpse of the woman before she disappeared. But the long mane of raven black hair, the deep red sash of patterned fabricacross her waist, and the sword were unmistakable.

And the red eyes.

The same eyes that manifested in Yang's Semblance.

 _It can't be…_

But Yang knew her eyes were not deceiving her. Not this time. Somewhere, deep down in the very core of her being, she just _knew_. Because in a very literal sense, Yang had known this woman since before she was even born.

 _Mom?_

"Yang."

Raven Branwen sheathed her sword and looked her daughter in the eye for the first time in seventeen long years.

"We have a lot to talk about."


	5. Fire

**Chapter 5:**

 **Fire**

The night passed by as Yang sat across the crackling fire from her mother and quietly listened to Raven tell her story. And when she concluded her tale, Yang saw immediately why Qrow thought his sister was so dangerous. Raven had not sugar-coated or glossed over any of the horrifying details of what she been doing for a living in Mistral for the last seventeen years. In fact, had she still possessed Ember Celica, Yang might very well have shot her own mother right then and there.

"So, you finally come to see me after all this time," Yang finally said, somehow managing to suppress her anger and disgust. "And the first thing you tell me is 'Hi, I'm the leader of a wild band of murderers and thieves'?"

Raven narrowed her eyes at her daughter's jibe.

"Qrow told you all this before? That's exactly something he would say."

"Nope. Never said a word. Dad didn't say anything, either. In fact, he never spoke much about you at all after you left him with a child to raise on his own."

"You were fine. Summer and Qrow were there to help." Raven replied, as if that somehow made her behavior okay.

"They shouldn't have fucking had to!" Yang sprang to her feet for the first time in hours. " _You_ should have stepped up and help raise _your own daughter_! You know, like a fucking responsible parent!"

"Yang, I had my reasons for leaving. I had to look out for the tribe."

"Oh, because your tribe is so much more important than the man who loved you to death and the child you had with him? Were you just using Dad? Wrapping him around your finger and keeping him around as a toy you could just throw away when he became inconvenient?"

"You have _no_ idea how much the tribe means to me." Raven said. She didn't even pause at the idea that her relationship with Taiyang was less than genuine, much less that it came from her own daughter. She didn't even seem to care.

"Actually, I think I do. I care about my family too. Much more than you ever did."

Yang expected her mother to explode with anger at that remark. Of everything she'd gathered in the past few hours, she'd figured out that Raven was extremely loyal to her family. That just so happened be a completely different group of people than Yang's. But instead of offering a retort, Raven just gave her an exacerbated sigh as if she was dealing with an impatient child.

"I did what I had to do, Yang. I won't apologize for doing what I believe is right."

That was about as conclusive as the she was going to get on the subject. It was obvious to Yang at that point that her mother believed she'd done the right thing, however Raven's twisted sense of morality interpreted that to mean "right".

Something Qrow had said to Yang came back to her, and instantly made her wary.

" _She does try to keep in touch. Whenever it suits her."_

"What do you really want?" Yang asked, searching for the true purpose of Raven's reappearance. "I'm pretty sure you didn't come all this way to Vale just to take your daughter back home after seventeen years."

Raven crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in her cross-legged position on the grass.

"You need a home, after what happened at the Vytal Festival. You'd be welcome in the tribe. We can always use good fighters."

"I don't need your charity." Yang spat angrily, incensed at the casual mention of the painful event that led her to where she was now. "Get to the point or fly your feathered ass right on out of here."

Again, the Branwen sister sighed in frustration.

"Fine. Something is about to happen in Mistral. A big attack on Haven Academy."

"And this concerns me _how_?"

"Ruby is in Mistral."

That made Yang freeze.

 _Ruby's in Mistral? Why? And how does Raven know?_

 _Why does she even care?_

"Come with me, Yang." Raven said to her daughter. "We can save your sister from whatever is about to happen if we work together. Let me give you a second chance to settle things with your family."

Had this been anyone else, in any other circumstance, Yang would have agreed to go without a second thought. She wanted to protect Ruby, regardless of what happened. No amount of pain and regret could make her forget her little sister. Ever.

But it wasn't enough to make Yang trust Raven.

"I'm not going _anywhere_ with you." Yang said, with all the finality she could muster in her voice.

With a quiet huff of defeat, Raven stood and prepared to take her leave.

"Then we're done here." She turned to walk away. "Goodbye, Yang."

As her mother once again disappeared into the darkness without another word, much as she'd done in Mountain Glenn, Yang thought carefully about what she had said.

Ruby was in danger.

And that, ultimately, was all Yang needed to know.

She put out the fire, mounted Bumblebee, and rode off into the night. The engine, in desperate need of a tune-up, rumbled on valiantly beneath Yang as she set out with only one goal in mind. All thoughts of Raven faded away with the rode behind her. She had to get to Mistral. Yang had no idea what she would get there, or even what she would do when she got there.

But she had to save Ruby.

* * *

Qrow gingerly stepped into the room and closed the door behind him as quietly as he could. Lying on the bed next to the window, Ruby was sound asleep with Crescent Rose beside her, likely worn out from weeks on the road and a big fight at the end of it. The battle against the Nuckelavee, a massive Grimm that had plagued the Anima countryside for many years, in the abandoned town of Kuroyuri had been a brutal one. When Ruby was about to be crushed by one of the monster's freakish extending arms, Qrow had to step in and help.

Needless to say, his sudden arrival was something of a surprise to everyone involved.

But between him, Ruby, and Team JNPR, they were able to defeat the Nuckelavee once and for all. Ren and Nora seemed to have drawn some closure from the ordeal. Qrow never asked, but he suspected that Kuroyuri had been their home before it was destroyed. They appeared happier, Ren especially, as much as ever was, than they'd been in many weeks. After the battle, the six were picked up by a patrolling airship that had happened to be nearby and taken directly to Mistral.

Qrow had no idea why the kids had decided to take the road to Mistral on foot when they could have done the safe thing and take the train.

Being careful not to wake his niece, Qrow pulled out the chair at the desk on one side of the room and took a seat. He took his silver flask from coat pocket, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip. He'd had a long journey himself. Someone had to keep the Grimm off the them along the way.

As he sat the flask on the desk, Qrow saw that something was written on the stationary. He leaned over to read it.

It was a letter to Yang.

 _Hey Sis,_

 _I hope my letters have been reaching you and Dad. Hand-written stuff's never been super reliable, but I guess it's all we've got these days. Anyway, in case you haven't been getting them, I want to say I'm sorry for leaving the way I did. I know you told me it was a reckless idea, and after everything I've been through, I can definitely say you were right. It's been hard, on all of us, and I'm not just talking about the monsters we fought out here. Every step we made took us further and further from the things we knew. And every morning we woke up wondering, if just over the next hill would be something good or something terrible. It's scary not knowing what's going to happen next. And the things we do know now—just how bad it can get—it almost makes it all worse. You me once that bad things just happen. You were angry when you said it, and I didn't want to listen. But you were right. Bad things do happen. All the time. Every day. Which is why I'm out here, to do whatever I can, wherever I can, and hopefully do some good. We've all lost something, and I've seen what loss can do to people. But if we gave up every time we lost, then we'd never be able to move forward. We'd never have a chance to see what beautiful things the future might have waiting for us. We'd never have the strength to change; whether it's ourselves, or the world around us. And we'd never be there for other people who might one day be lost without us. This is what we were training for, Yang. To become Huntresses, to be the ones to stand up and do something about all the bad in the world. Because there are plenty of people out there who are still lost, and even more who will try to gain everything they can from their sorrow. Believe me when I say, I know it can feel impossible, like every single day is a struggle against some unstoppable monster we can never hope to beat. But we have to try, if not for us,_ _then for the people we've already-_ _t_ _hen for the people we haven't lost yet. I miss you so much. I miss Weiss and Blake too. But I think you'd all be proud to know that I made it to Mistral. All of us did, and we even ran into Uncle Qrow along the way. He's going to take us to see Professor Lionheart, the headmaster of Haven Academy. And he told us some things that you're gonna wanna hear, things I can't trust will make it to you in this letter. But maybe, if you join us, he could tell you himself. I know you need to focus on yourself before I can expect you to come out with me. But it sure would be great to get Team RWBY back together again._

 _Until next time,_

 _Your loving sister,_

 _Ruby Rose_

 _Oh! Uh, PS. I'll be sure to give you the address of where we're staying in Mistral! I'd love to hear back from you and Dad, and I can't wait to fill you in on whatever's going to happen next! Now that we've made it across Anima I really think things are gonna start going our way._

Qrow reached the end of the letter. He wondered when Yang might have said that, and then wondered if Ruby was trying to imagine what she would have said to cope with her sister being gone. He also wondered if Ruby had been sending these letters home to Patch, or if Qrow would find more unsent letters that had no destination stashed away in her traveling pack. He'd never seen her use a postbox on the journey to Mistral.

They'd had no idea where Yang went when she left Vale. He'd considered following her that night, to make sure she was safe, but he knew that she wasn't a little kid anymore. Qrow knew that she needed to find her own way in the world. However much it hurt to let her go.

 _Yang's a big girl, and she can look after herself._

The way that sounded in his head, Qrow was a tad disgusted with himself. It was something Raven would have said. She _did_ say it, a long time ago, about a kid who needed his family when he needed them most.

But in this case, it was painfully true.

He picked up his flask and stepped out of the room, leaving Ruby to her restful sleep. He needed to walk around and clear his head.

As Qrow walked the streets of Mistral, he thought to himself how right Ruby had been in her letter. Bad things did happen, and there were plenty of people in the world who were lost. He'd been lost himself not that long ago. If it hadn't been for Taiyang and Summer, Qrow didn't even want to imagine where he might have ended up. Now Yang was out there, probably lost and looking for something to hold onto in a world where everything was so fragile and tenuous to begin with.

 _Heian's lost too._

 _But that's not going to stop him from killing everyone to get his revenge._

* * *

"Looking for someone?"

Qrow had been wandering around Mistral for a while, much longer than he had intended to, and had somehow stumbled into the path of yet another woman he'd rather not speak to for any length of time. So when he passed the street café where she just so happened to be at that moment to flag him down, he turned to face her and ramped the sarcasm up to eleven.

"Yeah, not you." Qrow said with his trademark drunk stupor. He was actually buzzed enough to pull it off. "Little Miss Atlas Specialist. I thought the air felt a little chilly when I came around the corner."

The look Winter Schnee gave him was a lesson in understated bemusement.

"Qrow, what are you doing here? Did Ozpin send you?"

"No. I'm here on personal business. Which, by the way, is also none of yours."

"You're so immature."

"Thank you. I'm glad you noticed."

Winter rolled her eyes and gestured at the seat across from her. He sat down and looked around the patio for other Atlas agents or anyone else who'd want to listen in on their very important chat.

"Alright then, Schnee." Qrow opened up the round of questions. "What are you doing in Mistral? Destabilizing the kingdom so Ironwood can ride in and save everyone?"

"We're trying to _save_ Mistral from the upcoming attack on Haven Academy."

"What attack?"

She regarded him with a genuine look of surprise.

"You really don't know?"

"Listen, I've been out of the loop for a few months now. You're going to have to fill me in on the details. Who's about to attack Haven?"

"There's been a noticeable spike in Dust and arms trades in recent weeks." Winter explained, straightening her white uniform and regaining her composure. "Which is nothing new in this kingdom, I'll admit, but everything points to the White Fang and some other group we haven't identified yet. It's everything that happened in Vale before the Vytal Festival incident."

There were only two groups that could be involved with the White Fang, the radical Faunus right's movment turned violent terrorist group, to strike directly at Haven. Salem or Heian. Qrow wasn't sure which he feared more. Either was bad news. Both was much, _much_ worse.

Qrow looked her in the eye to see if she really understood what happened months ago. What _really_ destroyed Mountain Glenn. The official story was that Roman Torchwick's massive stolen Dust cache, whatever wasn't on the train when it literally busted into Vale, had collapsed the underground cave network and took the empty city above down with it. But Ironwood had told Qrow and Ozpin what weapon was used, and more importantly, who designed it.

"Do you know what's really going on?" Qrow asked.

"That's classified."

"Don't start with me. Do you know who was behind the bomb in Mountain Glenn or don't you?"

"I've been briefed…" Winter replied, still noncommittal on giving information she thought she alone was privileged to, not knowing _he_ was the source of most of it.

"Then you know that whatever you're planning here in Mistral won't work."

Winter scoffed at the notion.

"Qrow, this is _exactly_ what the Atlas military exists for. If an enemy force is planning to assault Haven, then it our place to stop them. By any means necessary."

"First rule of war is 'know your enemy', right? You even know what you're up against?"

The lack of reply was confirmation that she didn't know what Heian's "force" was truly capable of. Qrow did. And he knew just how Heian would use it to his advantage.

"He has an army of the best mercenaries and paramilitaries on the planet." Qrow explained in a low voice. "He even has ex-Atlas special forces on his team. Did you know about _that_?"

Winter's face turned almost as white as her hair, and she was naturally pale. She knew what Atlas special forces could do in the wrong hands. Qrow had never truly believed that Ironwood's were the right ones in the first place, but he knew for certain that Heian could and would do serious damage with them at his disposal.

"He's got quite a few of Remnant's best soldiers, enough weapons to stop an army twice their size, and a bomb that can destroy an entire city. They've fought in and around Vacuo and Mistral for years. Short of putting troops Mistral like you did in Vale, which _will not work_ by the way, what are you prepared to do?"

Again, Winter did not reply. She had nothing.

"Worst case scenario, he's working with Salem." Qrow said, gauging Winter's reaction to see if she was in the loop on that. The expression he got in return said that she was aware of Salem. "Most likely he's either the one working with the White Fang, or he'll join the fighting for his own ends. Hell, he might show up just for the fun of it. Either way, we won't stand a chance."

"We can fight them." Winter protested. "Ironwood can get troops here."

"You don't get it. Salem will use the White Fang and the Grimm for pure destruction. She'll try to divide us. But Heian will be direct, _precise_. He'll send his men to hit us where it hurts most, cause chaos in one place while he stabs us in the gut from another. We're not facing a just another group of thugs with guns. They're professional soldiers."

"Have you discussed this with Professor Lionheart?"

"Not yet." Qrow replied, thinking that it was high time he contacted Ozpin and Lionheart and let them know the situation, if they didn't know already. "Point is, no matter what we do, Heian has an army that can strike from the shadows and he knows how to use it. And we'll never see it coming until it's too late."

Maybe Winter was right. Maybe Atlas was best equipped to take on Heian's small but determined band of mercenaries. But Qrow knew that it wouldn't be enough. Atlas had numbers, but it moved too slow, and couldn't match what their enemy made up for in strategy and sheer tenacity.

From what Raven had told Qrow about their encounter years ago, Heian was frighteningly intelligent and aggressive. He _enjoyed_ combat, but he fought _smart_. And what's more, he was _angry_. Mad at Raven, mad at the world, mad at _everything_. None of those things were a good combination.

He'd do anything just to watch the world burn.

And when he was done burning Haven to the ground out of spite, Heian would come for Ruby.

All so he could get to Yang.

The only person he hated nearly as much as Raven.


	6. Ashes

**Chapter 6:**

 **Ashes**

The attack on Haven was proving to be everything Heian could have hoped for and more.

A military assault that provided a decent excuse to step out of an office job and return to the action on the frontlines. A massive Grimm intrusion. A civil war between competing factions within the White Fang. A contingent of Atlas troops suddenly appearing in Mistral. And exploitable chaos.

Headmaster Lionheart was dead, and the Huntsman and police were powerless to stop the attack.

 _Lionheart betrayed his own compatriots to Salem and her lot? These men have no honor. Not even amongst themselves._

 _Let's teach them the meaning of honor._

As Heian walked the grounds of Haven Academy, the tail of his trench coat flapping in his silent wake, he listened to the devastation taking place in Mistral. Tactical reports from his units were coming in over his earpiece. Everything was going according to Salem's plan. The Grimm were running wild, the city was burning, and the White Fang was taking the blame for it all.

And Heian was leveraging the chaos for his own ends.

No one would notice a few mercenaries in all the panic. Mistral as a kingdom was notorious the world over for its criminal underbelly. And anyone who noticed that they were not White Fang would simply assume they were Atlas troops because the rest of the world believed there was only one standing military force still in existence. So much the better. It would spark a war between Atlas and Mistral.

His army wasn't big enough to take on Atlas directly. Yet. So, he would need the other kingdoms do fill the role until then. Vale, and now Mistral, would be among the first in line for Ironwood's throat when the time came.

The only objective that he had failed to accomplish thus far was finding Yang Xiao Long in all the fighting. His intelligence units had tracked Ruby Rose to Mistral in the weeks leading up to the attack, and Heian had expected her big sister to come running to rescue. But there was no sign of the elder sibling. Things must have seriously soured between them after the Vytal Festival incident to break a bond that strong.

 _Now you know how it feels to be abandoned._

He came upon the broken student dining hall, bombed out and crumbling from multiple airstrikes. Over the crackling of flames, gunfire, and the explosions in the distance, Heian could hear voices. Most of the fighting on campus was over by that point, the White Fang having pulled out and the Huntsmen desperately responding to dangers elsewhere in the city. He turned a corner and saw into the hall through the shattered windows, finding tall masked man with red hair speaking down to someone obscured by the ruble.

It was Adam Taurus, leader of one side of the White Fang. He looked pretty banged up after what appeared to be quite an intense duel. Heian could take a guess at who he had fought against as he hid behind a broken wall to listen in on the conversation.

"This could have been our day! Can't you see that!?" Adam spat angrily, clearly feeling betrayed by the person beneath him.

"I never wanted this!" The voice of Blake Belladonna replied from out of sight. "I wanted equality! I wanted peace!"

Blake sat up, drew her pistol, and fired twice at her assailant and rival for control of the White Fang. Adam simply half drew his sword from its sheath and deflected both rounds. Heian noted how his hair seemed to glow for a brief instant, as if absorbing the energy from the bullets.

"What you want is impossible!" Adam sheathed his blade and backhanded Blake across the cheek. Heian heard the girl whimper in pain as she fell back to the floor.

"But I understand. Because all I want is you, Blake."

There was the clatter of a gun being kicked away and another whimper.

"And as I set out upon this world and deliver the _justice_ mankind so greatly deserves," Adam knelt down to look Blake in the eye. "I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love."

Heian had heard enough. He did not share Taurus's definition of revenge in the slightest. And though he understood it all too well, Heian believed that vengeance should be delivered coolly, quickly, and efficiently. The "Best Served Cold" approach, as the saying goes. And though he had been planning to use Ruby as bait to draw out Yang, he had no desire to maim or kill her as an emotional weapon. Ruby Rose was nothing more than means to an end for him.

And unlike the fools running Remnant from behind the scenes, Heian at least had a shred of honor and pride left.

"Blake!" Heian shouted out, changing his accent to near perfectly mimic Yang's voice. "Blake! Where are you!?"

He stepped out into the open, looking around and searching for Blake as he imagined Yang would do in that position. Carefully turning to the two Faunus, Heian could see the look of horrified recognition on Blake's face. Although Heian could not quite match a female voice, the poor woman lying on the floor was likely too disoriented and frightened to detect that something was amiss.

And Heian and Yang were so physically similar that it probably didn't matter at this distance.

Adam looked back down at Blake's expression and immediately came to the exact conclusion Heian wanted him to.

"Starting with him."

The man rose and turned to face the newcomer, determined to make good on his promise. He simply didn't have enough information about his former comrade's personal life to know the difference. Or perhaps he was too blinded by rage and betrayal to notice anything else. Heian knew a killer when he saw one. That cold-blooded will to end life, consequences be damned.

Blake didn't seem to register that Adam said "him" and not "her".

"No…" Blake pleaded quietly. "Please…"

Adam Taurus drew his scarlet blade and unwittingly sprinted to his death.

When Adam was within reach, Heian sprang into action, utilizing years of hardwired reflex gained as a child soldier in the darkest shadows of Remnant. He had learned many forms of hand-to-hand combat at a young age. It was his preferred method of fighting, and his specialty.

Among those numerous techniques were how to disarm a swordsman and use their own weapon against them. He had learned that particular skill to best Raven Branwen, and had learned from bloody first-hand experience how to master it. The red blade that she wielded was an image forever etched into his mind, body, and soul. Heian still vividly remembered his previous encounter with the former Huntress. He'd been only twelve years old at the time, and the wounds had long since become scars.

They burned with his hatred every moment Raven and her daughter still lived in the same world as he did.

Heian sidestepped, grabbed Taurus's sword arm, jammed a lighting fast elbow into his masked face, and took the sword from his grip. He knew that without the sword, then Adam would be unable to use his Semblance and redirect the energy back at him. And Taurus's Aura was depleted from the prior dual with Blake, granting an opening. Speed was key, and Heian had the advantage of surprise, experience in unarmed combat, and the greater will to win.

Only one impulse processed in his mind.

 _Kill._

Taking the sword in his own hand, Heian plunged the blade through his opponent's chest.

Adam Taurus, mouth open in terrified surprise, dropped the sheath and fell off the traitorous blade to the floor.

Heian flicked his wrist and shook the blood off the blade, the droplets landing audibly on the floor. He walked over to the fallen Faunus, regarded him for a moment, and then stooped down to pick up the sword's sheath. Upon closer inspection, he found that the sheath was also a rifle. An intricately designed dual weapon that Heian could appreciate.

Suddenly, a gloved hand grasped at the cuff of Heian's boot. He looked down to see that Taurus was still alive, on his back and using what little fading strength he yet possessed to reach out to his killer in a vain attempt to stop him. Heian looked back to the sheath and studied the mechanism.

"You've served your purpose." Heian said offhandedly to the dying man at his feet. "You may die now."

Then he turned the barrel downward, aimed between the eye slits of the stylized Grimm mask, and pulled the trigger.

For a brief moment, Heian regretted having to deliver the coup de grace so quickly. He'd been curious to see what sort of eyes lay under that mask. But there was little of the face still intact after the point-blank shot, so it would remain but a minor mystery to him.

Heian sheathed the sword and walked over to Blake.

"Adam…" Blake said softly, reaching out to the man she once knew lying dead in a pool of his own blood.

Heian knelt and placed the sword down at her side.

"Yang? Is that you?" Blake looked up at him, tears welling in her bright yellow eyes.

"Not quite." Heian replied in his normal accent.

"Y… Yang?"

It was at that moment that Blake realized she was not speaking to her former teammate and friend. Only a man who very closely resembled Yang Xiao Long.

"Who… who are you?"

Standing and turning to take his leave, Heian considered how to answer.

"A shadow." He said solemnly as he walked away.

 _A shadow cast by the fire._

* * *

As Yang rode through the forest, she could see the orange glow of the flames against the night sky through the canopy. Haven was under attack, just as Raven had said a few weeks before Yang had taken a ship across the ocean and through the wilderness of Anima. The whole city was engulfed in flames, the fighting and the Grimm raging unchecked through the once peaceful streets.

And somewhere in all that madness was Ruby.

Bumblebee was on its last legs, low on fuel and just barely holding together by its bolts. There had been no time for a tune-up on the mad rush to Anima. Yang willed her beloved bike to hang on just a little longer, just a little farther, until she got to Mistral. Upon the twin peaks, fires burned the city built onto the mountain side. The sound of military aircraft and the missiles they carried going off below was deafening.

Mistral, regarded throughout Remnant as a great city of art and culture, was now a warzone.

Somehow, by some miracle, Yang made through the gate district in one piece. Most of the fighting was taking place further up the slope. She passed by fleeing civilians and uniformed police trying to evacuate the city as best they could. The further she got inside the urban battlefield, the more sporadic the people and the more frequent Grimm and soldiers from one faction or another became. Yang thought she saw White Fang, Atlas soldiers, and some men in uniforms and gear she didn't recognize.

All this she absent-mindedly absorbed as the world blurred past her. The only thing she cared about as she rounded corners at breakneck speeds was finding Ruby and keeping her safe. The heartache and the pain of the past few months was momentarily forgotten, replaced by the intense need to protect her sister.

 _You're in so much trouble when I find you._

That thought, given life only to disguise her fear and dread with light-hearted humor, was the last thing that went through Yang's mind before a blinding explosion to her left threw her off her bike and slammed her forcefully into a wall across the street.

* * *

As the sounds of frenzied, desperate combat raged on all around him, Qrow realized quickly they were all fighting a losing battle.

 _Damn it, James. Why couldn't you have told Lionheart and the Council that you were sending troops?_

It was a question Qrow had been asking himself for hours since the attack began. But he already knew the answer. Lionheart had betrayed them and sided with Salem. Ironwood's paranoia and distrust, though well founded for once, had played right into the enemy's hands. The unauthorized deployment of Atlas soldiers to Mistral was _exactly_ what Heian wanted him to do.

Qrow cut down the millionth and one Beowulf he'd faced that night. Ruby and Team JNPR were behind him, guarding the rear as the group made their way to the safe-zone in the lower city. They'd stuck to side streets and alleys to get out from under the assault. Haven had fallen hours ago. Lionheart was dead. The Relic the school had been guarding was gone, likely stolen by Salem's minions for her grand master plan.

All Qrow could do now was protect Ruby and get the kids out of there.

They ran into the open courtyard where Atlas troops had setup a first-aid station for people coming down from the upper levels. Several soldiers turned on Qrow and his charges, rifles raised, before realizing they weren't a threat and moving on to secure the perimeter. Qrow sighed with relief at not being shot when they'd just made it to relative safety.

It was a grim scene. Atlas combat medics and local paramedics were hurriedly tending to the wounded. All the civilians had been moved down and away from the worst of the fighting, except for the ones too injured to be moved. The plaza's cobblestones were slick with blood in some places. Qrow could see Huntsmen, soldiers, and civilians lying on the ground and not moving. There were more than a few body bags on the ground. All of them were occupied.

 _You wanted a war, kiddo. You got one._

 _Damn it, Raven. This is all your fault._

Winter, at the the helm of the operation, caught Qrow's eye as she was receiving reports and directing troop movements over her Scroll. She nodded curtly to him in acknowledgement, and he nodded back, their small-time rivalry forgotten with a much more important battle on their hands.

"Walking wounded incoming!" One of the soldiers shouted as he let five people into the plaza.

Qrow glanced over to the newcomers. He recognized them as Team SSSN, one of the teams from Mistral he'd watch fight in the Vytal Festival. Their leader, Sun Wukong, was helping Ruby's friend Blake walk, her arm draped over his shoulder. Neptune and Scarlet were holding their teammate Sage between them, his chin on his chest. An Atlas medic rushed over to take Sage and lay him down on the ground to treat him first, as he was the most critical. Sun gingerly sat Blake down against the shot-up fountain in the center of the plaza.

"Blake!" Ruby exclaimed and ran to her wounded teammate. Qrow followed, seeing if there was something he could do to help despite the ever-present knowledge that his Semblance could put them all in danger at any moment. He needed to get away from the wounded before something bad happened.

The black-haired girl sitting on the ground looked like she'd seen a ghost.

"Blake!" Ruby knelt down by her friend's side. "Are you okay!?"

"I'm… I'm alright." Blake replied softly, more to herself than to her team leader. "I'm alright."

"Blake, why are you here?" Ruby asked. "I thought you went home to see your family."

"We came up from Menagerie." Sun cut in to explain. "To fight the White Fang."

"Ruby…"

Blake looked up to meet Ruby's eyes. There was confusion and sorrow in her yellow eyes.

"I… I thought I saw Yang."

 _Son of a…_

Qrow knew immediately who she saw. It could be only one person in that time and place.

"No, it wasn't Yang." Blake said, shaking her head. "It was… some guy. He killed Adam. I was dazed. But…"

She glanced meaningfully to Qrow, as if she'd already guessed the truth.

* * *

Yang drifted in and out of consciousness for what felt like a long time. She saw brief flashes of people running past her and fires burning in several different places before fading to black again. There was no pain, no sense of danger. She just stayed there, lying on her side against the wall she'd landed against, watching the fires burn around her.

For some strange reason, Yang thought she'd seen a big black bird push her out of the way when the explosion knocked her off her bike.

 _What happened? Where am I?_

She felt her eyelids grow heavy as the darkness closed in once again.

 _Mom...?_

The last thing she remembered was a man with an eye-patch kneeling down and picking her up.

"I've got you kid. Stay with me." The man said as Yang drifted into oblivion in his arms.

* * *

"Have you found her yet?" Heian asked into his earpiece microphone.

" _No sir."_ Wintergreen replied. _"No sightings reported in, and we still have eyes on Rose. No contact."_

While unfortunate news, Heian remained unconcerned. It was only a matter of time.

 _After all, it's fate._

"Begin pulling our men out. We're done here."

" _Yes sir."_

Heian leaned back in Professor Lionheart's office chair and put his hands behind his head. The Headmaster's office was a mess. There were books strewn about, the couches in the corner were turned over, and the tea set lay in shattered porcelain fragments on the floor. The lights were out, his men having cut the power to the campus hours ago. They were on their way back to base now. Their job was finished.

As he sat listening to the final moments of the Battle of Haven, Heian reflected on the events that had brought him, and the world, to that point in history.

 _I was abandoned and left to die. Left to fight in a world that would not allow me to survive. My end was decided the day I was born._

There was only one person whom Heian could place the blame on.

When he was done bringing conflict to every corner of Remnant, Heian was going to kill Raven Branwen. The person responsible for his lot in life. The reason for his very existence. Even if he had to take the whole world with him to do it.

And then he was going to settle the score with Yang Xiao Long.

The door to the office opened, and a young woman wearing a red dress walked into the room. Her amber eyes seemed to glow unnaturally in the darkness, like an ember in the ashes, lending contrast to her coal black hair and pale face. The woman was dangerously beautiful.

And beautifully dangerous.

"I see Haven is under new management." Cinder Fall announced, staring at the man occupying the late Headmaster's position of power.

Heian put his hands on the chair sides and rested one foot on his knee, regarding Cinder with a cold look that said he was not there to play games.

"I saw what you did to Adam Taurus." Cinder cooed as she approached the mahogany desk at which he sat. "And I've seen what your army is capable of. You are a very powerful man with very powerful forces at your disposal. Perhaps we can form an alliance that we both find… mutually beneficial."

 _Sorry, Cinder. I refuse to be someone else's tool. The only cause I fight for is my own._

"Don't think of me as another pawn on your board." Heian replied. "Because I'm playing my own game."

"And what, I may ask, is that game?" Cinder sat on the opposite edge of the desk in a less-than-subtly seductive manner. She may have been willing to accept his coincidental help without question, but Heian was not ready to give it freely.

His game was a simple one. One he intended to win.

"I came here to start a war. You came here for the Relic. Those two interests happen to coincide for the moment. But whatever it is that Salem is planning, I really couldn't care less."

Cinder's eyes narrowed at the mention of her true master's name, a name that was supposed to be a secret known only to a few. He smiled at landing a palpable verbal hit.

"Oh yes. Salem. The Maidens. The Relics. I know about it all. Which is why…"

Heian pulled his Scroll from his coat pocket and showed her a picture sent to him by one of his retrieval teams mere minutes after the attack on Haven began.

"I'll be holding on to _this_ for the time being."

At the mere sight of the picture, Cinder's eyes widened a fraction before her hungry eyes flared brightly and now saw him as a potential rival rather than a potential ally.

"Who are you?" Cinder asked, certainly more cautious and on guard now. "What is your goal here?"

He hated his full name. It was a reminder of the bitter curse that was his fate, of a life that had been stolen from him and could never be reclaimed no matter what he did. It was proof of his tragic heritage, a heritage that had condemned him since the day he was born.

The fate determined by his very genes.

"My name is Heian Xiao Long." He said, watching realization dawn on Cinder's face. "And I am here to watch the world burn."


	7. Warrior

**Chapter 7:**

 **Warrior**

As the world faded back in through the haze, Yang thought the world looked annoyingly bright. It felt like waking up with a tremendous hangover after a really, _really_ long night at one bar too many. Slowly her vision cleared, and Yang blinked several times before gazing lazily at her surroundings. She was in a hospital room, the sun shining through a window to her left.

 _Where am I? How did I get here?_

Yang tried to sit up, but found that she was too tired to move much more than her head. And her right arm hurt. It didn't feel like a bruise. It was dull, just barely noticeable pain, but it was there. She glanced down to her right side.

Her arm looked fine.

" _H…huh?_ " She tried to speak. "What's…?"

"Finally awake, huh?" An aged, husky voice said from her right.

Turning her head slightly, Yang saw an older man with greying brown hair tied back in a short ponytail sitting in a chair with his back to the wall, as if he was watching the door. He turned to face her, revealing the thin black strap of a right eyepatch across his forehead diagonally before it disappeared into his hairline.

"Who are you?" Yang asked, starting to come out of her daze. "How'd I get here?"

"My name is Wallace Wintergreen." The man said, standing up and moving closer to her bedside before kneeling back down to eye level. "I pulled you off the side of the road in Mistral. You were blown off your motorcycle by an explosion. Remember?"

"Yeah, I think so." Yang vaguely remembered being thrown off her bike and hitting a wall. Hard. "What happened? Where am I?"

"Missile." Wintergreen answered tersely. "You're in Vacuo."

"How did I get to…?" Yang started to ask.

"I brought you here. Mistral wasn't safe."

"How long have I been here?"

"You've been in a coma for nine days."

The news surprised Yang for a moment, but then another question replaced the shock.

 _What was I doing in Mistral?_

She started to remember what had happened. Raven had shown up out of nowhere and told her that Haven was about to be attacked and that Ruby was…

 _Ruby!_

"My sister!" Yang exclaimed, now more or less fully awake. "I was trying to save my sister! Is she okay!?"

"Hang on." Wintergreen pulled his Scroll out of his coat pocket. "What's her name?"

"Ruby Rose." Yang answered anxiously.

Wintergreen scrolled through a list of names. A rather long one. Through the transparent back of the device, Yang could see that a few of the names had been highlighted in red. She privately wondered about it, but she was too focused on Ruby's fate to ask why Wintergreen had something that looked suspiciously like a kill list.

"She's not on the casualty list." Wintergreen said after a moment and handed Yang the Scroll. "But they're still trying to account for all the dead and missing."

Yang took the Scroll with both hands, and sighed with relief when she didn't see "Rose, Ruby" on the long list of R's. She tried to move the list with her right thumb, but the Scroll wasn't responding.

"Thank you." She gave up and handed the Scroll back. Yang wasn't sure she wanted to see all those other names. A lot of people had died that night. All things considered, she was lucky enough not to be among the dead herself. It was a miracle she wasn't any more wounded than she appeared to be.

 _Why does my arm hurt?_

Wintergreen cocked his head to the side and stared at her with his cold, dark green left eye.

"Look at your arm again, Yang."

Yang froze.

 _My… arm?_

Slowly, Yang's gaze moved back down to her right side and raised her arm up to chest height.

It was missing below the elbow.

 _But how…? How did…?_

She'd been sure her arm was there just a moment ago. Sure she'd felt the Scroll in her hand.

It still hurt.

Like it was still there.

Her right arm, an arm that wasn't there any more, ached with faint, ghostly pain.

"Phantom pain." Wintergreen explained her thoughts. "It's gone."

Yang started to hyperventilate, then sheer terror overrode everything else and she started spasming. The hospital bed rocked and creaked as she twitched wildly and uncontrollably. Wintergreen threw a restraining arm around her and shouted "Medic!" Three men burst into the room, one carrying a medical bag and the other two carrying rifles. The medic rushed to Yang's side while his comrades stood back with their guns trained on her.

 _It's gone… It's gone… IT'S GONE!_

"Sedative!?" The medic asked across to Wintergreen as he helped hold her down.

"No, leave her!" He responded quickly.

Eventually, Yang started to calm down and let reality sink in.

"Okay, she's good." Wintergreen said after the frightful moment passed. "Thank you, men. Dismissed."

The medic moved out of the room without a word, followed closely by his armed escort, as quickly as they he had come in.

"I'm sorry." Wintergreen said suddenly, concern and genuine sorrow written on his weathered features. "Shrapnel from the explosion severed your forearm at the elbow. If it wasn't for your Aura, you'd have bled out before anyone found you. You're lucky to be alive."

"But I'm not." Yang whispered. "It's all gone. My family. My friends. Now this…"

"So, what are you going to do about it?"

Yang looked at the man sitting beside her.

"What _can_ I do?" She replied, once again on the knife's edge of despair. "I lost a part of me. A piece of me is gone. And it's _never_ coming back."

"You're right. It's never coming back. But if _this_ couldn't stop me," Wintergreen pointed to the eyepatch covering his right eye. "Then that can't stop you. It's just an arm. Others lost much more that night."

"But what about the people I love!?" Yang shouted, pouring out months of pain on the stranger who saved her life. "They abandoned me! They think I'm a monster!"

"You're not a monster, Yang."

That caught her.

 _How… how can he understand? How can a complete stranger possibly understand when no one else would!?_

"I saw what happened during the Vytal Festival." Wintergreen explained. "The way you turned and shot Mercury Black wasn't the way a typical psychopath would. You paused and reacted to something the rest of the world couldn't see. I don't know what you really saw in that moment, but I do know that _you_ believed you were being attacked."

"How do you know that?" Yang asked.

"I've killed more than my fair share of people in self-defense. It's not like taking a life in cold blood. There's surprise, then just reaction. That's what you did."

 _I reacted. I didn't want to kill Mercury. I did what my training and instincts told me._

 _I just… reacted._

"Someone said that you can start seeing things on the battlefield. That I was just stressed and juiced-up from the fight."

"Let me guess. General Ironwood."

That caught Yang by surprise yet again. How in the world did he know _that_?

"Uh, yeah. You know him?"

"Once." Wintergreen replied, then shook his head before continuing, as if dispelling unpleasant memories. "That's something he would say. And he's right. Instinct and panic can make you see things in combat. Either way, I know what I saw. You're not psychopathic, Yang. Just someone in the wrong place at the wrong time."

That didn't make Yang feel any better about what happened.

"So, knowing that, what are you going to do now?"

Yang looked at him, thought about it, and looked down at the tossed white sheet covering her legs.

"I don't know."

"Well, you can sit here and cry about you're your lot in life." Wintergreen stood and gazed down at her. "Or you can get better, put the past behind you, and move on."

"Move on to what?" Yang asked the same question she'd asked Qrow the night she left Vale.

"You can let me train you back up to fighting strength and earn yourself a prosthetic arm." Wintergreen began. "Then if you want a job, you can join me and my men."

"What do you mean 'join you'?"

"I'm a soldier. A mercenary. Those men are part of my unit. We take dangerous missions even the Huntsmen can't do. Or won't."

"Were you in the Atlas Military?"

"Once." Wintergreen responded again, as if he didn't want to discuss his past. "Now I fight for no kingdom. No cause or ideology. Me and my men fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. We fight because we are needed. And with the way things are going, we're going to be needed sooner rather than later."

He turned to leave, looking back over his left shoulder with his good eye.

"It's not going to be easy. It doesn't always pay well, either. There's no guarantee that you'll get to go home one day. But that's the risk everyone takes when they step onto the battlefield. You had a bad break, but that doesn't have to stop you. You can do anything if you want it bad enough. You're already a good warrior. Prove you can be a good soldier, and you'll earn your second chance."

As Wintergreen walked out and left her alone in the room, Yang thought long and hard about her situation and his offer. She had no reason to trust him. But he did save her life and offered her a second chance, and for whatever reasons he may have had, Yang owed him that much.

 _It's all gone. My home, my family, even my body._

 _I've got nothing left to lose._

Yang looked out the window, and despite everything she'd lost, the sun was still shining outside. She felt that, somehow, she'd passed a watershed. The world didn't seem quite so dark. That little ember of hope she'd held onto had finally caught flame. Someone believed in her again.

It wasn't much.

But it was enough.

Again, Uncle Qrow's word came back to her, stubbornly refusing to allow her to just lie down and die.

" _Never stop moving forward."_

Slowly, wincing in pain with every movement, Yang gingerly got out of her hospital bed and limped toward the door. She shrugged off the pain and the sadness and the regret. Yang was going to chase Wintergreen down on her own two feet and prove that she was still in the fight. She wasn't going to let her past stop her from moving forward.

 _I'm not giving up._

 _I'm not done fighting._

* * *

Yang had never done more pushups, carried more weight, and ran more miles in her life.

And certainly not all while missing an arm.

After spending a month on the mend, Yang had started bringing herself back up to speed. Wintergreen's "rehabilitation" turned out to be the most brutal and agonizing training routine she'd ever experienced. Her Dad had always been a "throw you into the deep end" sort of coach when Yang was a kid training to be a Huntress.

Wintergreen, on the other hand, was more like the over-the-top drill sergeant Yang had always seen in the movies. Just with less yelling and more ruck-runs. She realized pretty early on there was a reason for the stereotype.

But it felt damn good to be active again. It took her mind off the phantom pains.

So good in fact, that after just a few weeks, they'd started Yang on brushing up her fighting skills. She thought Wintergreen couldn't make her training any more anymore intense.

She was wrong.

Yang figured out quickly that Wintergreen was a master at hand-to-hand combat. During every sparring session, he effortlessly matched her blow for blow, and more often than not ended up winning the fight. Despite being in his late forties, lack of Aura, and a missing eyeball, Yang thought he was easily as good as Taiyang, if not better. He certainly knew what he doing, and Yang was getting better every day with his live-fire instruction.

"You're pretty good, kid." Wintergreen complimented and wiped his brow after a particularly intense practice round.

They'd headed out into the dry shrubland near their temporary base, having left the small field hospital in the middle of nowhere Vacuo behind weeks ago when Yang was well enough to hit the road. Wintergreen's mercenary unit never stopped in any one place for long.

And along with the training, helping them move so often helped Yang forget the past.

"How's the arm?" Wintergreen asked as he wringed sweat out of his olive bandana, which he always wore when he fought.

"Honestly, I'm kind of surprised." Yang replied and looked at her new grey plastic and metal arm. Somehow, Wintergreen had called in a few favors and been able to get a state-of-the-art, combat-ready prosthetic for her all the way out in Vacuo. "I thought it would be just this huge weight, but it feels… natural. They did a great job with this thing."

Suddenly, Wintergreen attacked without warning, throwing a punch across her face. Yang quickly recovered and blocked another punch with her left before whirling around to throw an elbow shot with her right. Wintergreen blocked and ducked beneath a roundhouse kick. He blocked three more swift kicks and a punch, then deflected another punch as he grabbed her right arm and threw an elbow toward her face. Yang was just able to halt it with her left, but she was caught in a hold.

"Your balance still needs a little work." Wintergreen observed and swept her legs out from under her.

Yang fell to the dirt, looking up at the clear blue desert sky. She breathed and closed her eyes for a moment, thankful for the brief respite.

"We've been at this for a few weeks now, and I saw you fight in the Vytal Festival tournament. May I say a word about your fighting?" Wintergreen asked, standing over her.

"Let me guess. I was sloppy." Yang said, a little incensed. She'd always been bad at taking criticism. She preferred learning by doing rather than having someone explain things to her. Most of the time Wintergreen let her learn the hard way, but he would give some tough advice when Yang needed it.

"No. You were predicable. You used your Semblance to win every fight after the qualifiers. Your Semblance lets you use hits you've taken and anger to boost your power, right?"  
Yang sat up and nodded. He was right. She fought hot, and occasionally, that got her into trouble. She remembered her fight with Neo on the train, and how it almost cost Yang her life.

"How's that any different than someone else using theirs?"

"Your Semblance is a good fallback, but it won't always save you in the long run. Don't let anger cloud your judgement. Think first, then act."

Thinking about this, Yang agreed where she was concerned, but that wasn't always possible. Especially on a battlefield, when there was nothing but chaos and the fight before you. You reacted first, sometimes on pure instinct, or you died.

"I thought soldiers had to follow orders without question." Yang said. "Doesn't leave a lot of room for thought."

Wintergreen turned to face her, his dust streaked face drawn with sadness.

"Being a soldier isn't just about shooting people and following orders. It's about knowing when to pull the trigger, and sometimes being moral enough not to."

"Is that why you left Atlas?" Yang asked.

"Yes. I was a soldier in the Atlesian Army until they gave me an order that I could not, and would not, carry out. It was wrong, unlawful, and it would have gotten me and my men killed. At that moment, I realized we were nothing but expendable tools used for the kingdom's shadowy agenda. I left to form my own army where soldiers like us would be no one's tools."

Based on the mournful expression on his face, and that sad, faraway look in his eye, Yang decided not to press him. It was ironic that a mercenary, paid to fight on others' behalf, would scoff at being someone else's tool, but Yang saw his point. It didn't feel great to be used.

 _At least he has a choice about who and what he fights for._

 _And so do I._

"Come on." He said, extending his hand out to her. "We should head back before the men eat up all the decent MREs."

"Yuck." Yang replied and took his hand. She'd learned to stomach military rations, if only for the barest nutritional necessity.

"You're getting better, Yang." Wintergreen remarked as they hiked back toward their temporary base. "You'll be just fine here, if you want to stay."

"Oh yeah, I'm staying." Yang said with a grin, already having made up her mind. She liked the mercenary life, even the small taste she'd gotten so far, and she liked how tight knit everyone in Wintergreen's unit was. They were all warriors, brothers and sisters in arms, and they all fought for two things: Lien and the soldier beside them. There were no judgements when someone joined up. What you were before didn't matter. All that mattered is what you did from there on in.

She longed for the days with Team RWBY, but Yang felt like she'd finally found a home again.

A family.

"You think I'll be able to beat you someday?" Yang asked.

"You already can, if you were going all out." Wintergreen replied over his shoulder. "Your training as a Huntress and your Aura gives you a distinct advantage over most regular soldiers."

"I just hope I'll never have to fight you to the death."

"War can change directions just as easily as the wind. Today's friend could be tomorrow's enemy. For warriors and soldiers, nothing is certain. All you can do is hold onto yourself, and try not to lose your way."

 _That's a comforting thought._

But Yang knew how easy it was for people to turn on her. All she could do was trust her new comrades. Her new family.

And believe in herself.

* * *

"Have you found her yet?"

 _"Negative. We're still sweeping the area around Mistral."_ Wintergreen reported on the other end of the call.

Heian seethed in barely restrained anger. In the wake of the Fall of Haven, a report from one of his Bullhead gunship positively placed Yang Xiao Long in Mistral during the closing hours of the battle. The pilots confirmed that they had fired on a motorcycle entering the city, throwing a long-haired rider off to the side of the road.

Aside from wanting nothing more than to have pulled the trigger himself, Heian had been more than ready to cross his sister of his personal revenge list.

There was just one problem.

Her body had never been found.

 _Until I see a corpse, this is not over._

 _Not yet._

"Keep. Looking." Heian ordered into his Scroll.

 _"Yes sir."_ Wintergreen responded and hung up.

Tossing the Scroll onto the desk, Heian leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. He'd exhausted all his leads, and there was other business to attend to. As much as he wanted Yang dead, that old wound would have to wait for the time being. He still had a war to fight.

 _You're still out there, dear sister. You may have escaped this time, but I will hunt you down and destroy you. Our paths will cross again._

 _I know it._


	8. Soldier

**Chapter 8:**

 **Soldier**

" _Incoming."_

The voice over the radio no longer sounded urgent or even mildly concerned by enemy fire. They had been on the receiving end of mortar fire for three months by that point, the terror and novelty having worn off by the end of the first week. Now everyone knew to just take cover and wait it out.

Yang leaned casually against a crumbling clay-brick wall, cradling her rifle with one hand and a lit cigarette in the other. She had always been told as a kid that smoking was an unhealthy habit, but now found it calming when airburst munitions were going off overhead.

Taking another drag off her smoke, Yang gazed around at the desert village through the wind-swept dust and dark tint of her sunglasses.

Well, what was left of the village. It had been bombed to Hell and back.

Wintergreen's unit had been hired by the locals to retake the village from a rival private military company that had taken it earlier. The PMC was contracted there to protect the Dust mines of western Vacuo on behalf of a foreign company. They had driven the villagers from their homes half a year ago, and set up base to watch over the mines and desert transport routes nearby.

After Yang's group recaptured the village, three months back, a standoff between the two mercenary factions began in earnest. They occasionally traded gunfire and artillery, lazily trying to drive their adversary out but both sides unable drive the point home. Yang's job was to protect the village from the enemy and whatever Grimm wandered in.

 _Yeah, we've done a great job with that._

"Hey, Xiao Long." Someone said approaching her, utterly unafraid of the mortar shells booming in the distance. "Got a smoke?"

Yang pulled a pack of cigarettes from one of the ammo pouches haphazardly bolted and strapped to her ballistic breastplate. Her friend leaned against the wall next to her, taking the cardboard pack and shaking one out before handing it back to her. He put the cigarette to his mouth and lit it with a disposable lighter.

"Thanks." Spade said, taking in a lungful of cheap tobacco smoke.

"Sure." Yang replied.

Spade was another soldier-of-fortune from Wintergreen's outfit, a fellow mercenary with a past he didn't like to talk about. An excellent sniper and probably the only person Yang trusted completely to cover her back. He rested his haphazardly constructed marksman rifle, sorrowfully nicknamed Broken Shovel, on the wall beside his leg.

"So, another day and another waste of rounds for the other guys." He said as a puff of smoke drifted away into the afternoon sky. "I grew up in Vacuo, but I'm already sick of the sand. It's rough and irritating and-"

"It gets everywhere." Yang finished her partner's favorite complaint. She'd heard it a thousand times before.

"I was going to say it's a pain in the ass to clean out of your gun. But yeah, that too."

She smiled at that, thankful for someone to talk to. Aside from Wintergreen, Yang trusted Spade more than she had anyone else in a long time. He was like her, in a lot of ways. He'd used to be a Huntsman-in-training at Shade Academy, before he got kicked out for killing another student in self-defense. Yang thought it was odd that a school run by bandits and outlaws would expel someone for protecting themselves, but Yang had never asked for the details.

She didn't trust him because he was dependable, witty, and overall a great combat-buddy and even better friend. Not even because his sniper rifle fighting style wistfully reminded Yang of Ruby and her Crescent Rose.

Yang trusted him because he understood.

"You know," Spade started, cautiously brining up what he knew was a sensitive subject. "I was thinking."

"That's dangerous, you know."

"Tell me about it." He said with a grin before continuing. "I was thinking, that after this deployment is finally over, we could take some leave in Vale. You know, someplace and not blazing hot and full of people trying to kill us."

Yang just stared ahead at the rubble of other peoples' lives all around them, silent. She had not been back to Vale since that night, three years ago. The day she'd killed Mercury Black in front of the entire world.

The day she'd left her old life as Yang Xiao Long behind.

Since that day, Yang had drifted around Remnant, from battlefield to battlefield, never staying anywhere for long. Mistral, Vacuo, the outskirts of Vale, it didn't matter. They went where the fighting was. Nomads, drawn endlessly to wherever they were needed. She had tried living a peaceful life, but couldn't make it work. She had trained since childhood to be Huntress, and somehow ended up becoming a soldier. Trained to fight. Trained to survive.

The only time she felt alive was on the battlefield. But being a Huntress and fighting for the protection of mankind had been lost to her. She had no noble cause left to fight for. So, she became a soldier in a world that needed them fast and cheap, fighting for nothing but herself and the man beside her.

"You ever thought of going back?" Spade asked gingerly, concern hidden in his battle-hardened voice.

Though she regretted leaving her friends and family behind every single day, Yang hadn't ever looked back. Even after three years of war sucked away the initial optimism she'd had about her new path in life, she was still trying every day to put the past behind her. To live for the moment, with no past.

And quite possibly no future either.

"No." She said hoarsely, ending the conversation there.

Another thing Yang liked about Spade. He knew when to shut up.

* * *

As Heian scanned over the latest reports from his units deployed around the world, he thought about how best to eliminate a growing pain in his ass.

After the Fall of Haven, many private forces popped up across Remnant to meet the growing demand for security in the absence of standing armies and the inability of the Huntsmen to protect the entire world. War, once the province of kingdoms, had become a business, fought for profit. And in just three years, business had boomed exponentially.

 _And where there are contractors, there are always suppliers._

Aside from a few small-time, black market arms dealers in Mistral and Vacuo, there was only one large-scale wholesaler of military grade weapons on the planet: Atlas. Though after Ironwood's failed attempt to save Mistral with unsanctioned troops, he'd decided to take a more "diplomatic" approach. Apparently content to sit back and let well-armed proxies do all the dirty work on their behalf, Atlas had been running a less-than-secret weapons supplying operation for more than a few PMCs operating in Vacuo.

But Heian couldn't afford for Atlas to sit out and watch from ring side seats. For the world to go to war, he needed them to take a more active role.

 _Time to disrupt the supply chain._

"Wintergreen, I have an assignment for you." Heian said into this Scroll. "I'll need your best men for a little wetwork in Vale."

 _"Do you want my squad?"_ Wintergreen responded without even asking for further details.

Heian considered letting Wintergreen's personal twelve-man army of former Atlas special forces soldiers loose on the target. Their particular methods of assassination were effective, but he would prefer to handle this matter in a way that wouldn't result in massive and conspicuous property damage across several square-blocks in downtown Vale.

"No offense, Captain, but I want this job done discretely. No disintegrations. Sending you the details now."

Wintergreen grunted at the other end.

 _"The men I need are in Vacuo on another assignment."_

"Get them out. Do whatever you need to do. This has priority."

 _"Yes sir. Right away."_

Heian hung up, sighed, and realized yet again how much he hated his desk job.

* * *

Ever since the first time he'd been called to the Headmaster's office as a troublesome student, way back in the day, Qrow hated going up to Beacon Tower to see Ozpin. He was pretty sure he liked it even less since he'd started doing secret missions for Ozpin's secret world saving cabal.

"Qrow, thank you for coming on such short notice." Ozpin said as Qrow unscrewed the cap to his flask and took a preparatory sip of booze. "There's a matter in the city I need looking into."

"You're lucky I was in town this time. I've been running ragged putting out fires and stopping the Grimm all over the place."

"I know, and I am sorry for the inconvenience. But this is a matter of vital import."

"Oz, you know I'm up for most anything. Let's just get on with it."

Ozpin pulled up a set of police mug shots on the holoscreen. It was a few years old, but Qrow recognized the dastardly villain and his admittedly stylish bowler hat. That year had not been a good year for anybody in Vale.

 _Especially Yang._

Qrow always wondered where Yang was, but hadn't heard a word from or about her in the past three years. She'd disappeared from his and everyone else's lives without a trace.

 _I hope you're okay, kiddo._

"Don't tell me." Qrow replied, staring at the shimmery photograph above Ozpin's desk. "He escaped?"

"I do not believe so." Ozpin said, closing the hologram. "As far as Atlas records say, he is still in their custody. Sitting comfortably in a high-security prison in Mantle, from what I understand"

"You think they let him out?"

Suddenly, Ozpin stooped over his desk looked more weary than usual. The aftermath of the Fall of Haven had been hard on everyone, and it had strained Ozpin and Ironwood's already shaky relationship to the breaking point. With Salem unsurprisingly nowhere to be found, the priority became dealing with the cascade of small conflicts Heian had kicked off. And that meant a radical sift in agenda that not everyone in Ozpin's inner circle agreed on.

"If I am being honest, Qrow, I don't believe Atlas is playing by the rules anymore. Not the same rules we do, in any case. Regardless of whether James knows of this or not, we have a dangerous criminal in our city. I want you to bring him for questioning."

It was a big and potentially messy job, especially if Atlas was involved, but Qrow knew they couldn't afford to let this one go.

"Okay, I'll take the job." Qrow said. "But I want to take Teams RWBY and JNPR along with me."

"Done." Ozpin agreed without objection to the request.

The teams were in their fourth year of training, near about to graduate from Beacon and become full-fledged Huntsmen and Huntresses. Even if RWBY was down a member, the seven of them were as ready as they'd ever be.

And they had plenty of experience in foiling this particular creep.

* * *

"Yang, Spade." Wintergreen said, sitting at a cheap plastic table that had become the desk of his temporary commander's office. "How are you? It's been a while."

"Tired, Boss." Spade answered. He and Yang were sitting on folding chairs in the one room adobe brick building that was once someone's house, wondering what was so important that Wintergreen had decided to make a surprise visit to the front. He would drop by once in a while to check on the men, but he always visited them in the barracks or the trenches rather than call them into the office for a simple catch-up.

That left Yang wondering what this was all about.

"How're you holding up, Yang?"

"Same. Running low on ammo and decent food, but I can't complain."

"I'll see what I can do." Wintergreen replied and wrote it down in a small notepad. "Until then, I have a job for you two."

He put the notepad down on the table and looked up at them.

"I need you two for a mission. It's something I can only trust to my best."

"Guess that means we're the best." Yang said with a grin.

"I'm honored sir." Spade replied with mock sarcasm.

"Spade, you're my best sniper. Yang, you know Vale better than anyone I can trust with this op. It's a bit of asset denial for other PMC's working in the region, but what this mission boils down to is assassination. Get in, get the job done, get out. If either of you have any questions or want to back out, now's the time."

Spade just shrugged. Yang wasn't morally opposed to the idea of assassinating anyone. How could she, after all the killing she'd done? And she trusted Wintergreen's judgement, especially if it would save her and her comrades' lives down the road.

 _Me or them. Us or them._

 _Kill them first_

What got her attention was the mission being in Vale.

"Who's the target?" Yang asked.

"An arms-dealer. This piece of work's shipping weapons to mercenaries groups all over Remnant. He's been operating out of Vale for a couple of years now, and his operation has been growing right along with the rising demand for private forces. And I picked you, Yang, because you've run into him before."

Wintergreen looked her in the eye.

"Your target is Roman Torchwick."


	9. Killer

**Chapter 9:**

 **Killer**

Qrow and Ruby were seated at the bar in one of his favorite street-side pubs, humorously named the Crow Bar, on the boardwalk of coastline Vale. The teams had split up into groups of two and spread out to cover more ground. The search for Torchwick was going on the better part of a week. He was as difficult to find as ever, so after a long day of fruitless searching, Ruby and her uncle had decided to take a brake and get a drink.

They sat in silence and watched the news on the holoscreen behind the bar. As they watched the reports of small wars happening all over the world, but still very far from home, Qrow thought it was only a matter of time before Heian's dream of another Great War came to be a reality.

 _Atlas is pushing back, but they still don't get that their playing right into Heian's grand master plan. Ironwood's going to do something stupid and light the tinderbox._

In the midst of the darkness growing on the horizon, Qrow noticed Ruby, who was now seventeen and of legal drinking age, was drinking a Strawberry Sunrise. Strawberries were her favorite food, but Qrow wondered if Ruby drank the cocktail because it had been Yang's favorite drink.

 _She's lost her mother and her sister. If she loses anyone else, Ruby's going to end up like me. Old and alone and drinking too much to forget the pain._

"Ruby, I need to talk to you." Qrow decided to open the wound he'd glimpsed three years ago. "I read the letter you wrote to Yang when we got to Haven."

Ruby didn't say anything for a good long while, silently listening to the chaos unleashed by a vengeful half-brother she didn't even know existed. Qrow wondered if he should tell Ruby about that sad family story. But he caught himself.

 _No, that needs to stay buried._

It was at that moment that Qrow realized the only way to save Remnant from a second, possibly more destructive, round of the Great War and protect Ruby and Yang was to kill his own nephew.

"I miss her so much." Ruby said quietly, a tear streaming beneath the bangs of red-black hair hiding her face. "I want to find Yang, but I don't even know where to start looking. She could be anywhere. I don't even know if she wants to see me. I think… I think Raven did a real number on her when she left."

Qrow understood what she meant all too well. It was easy to blame Raven for what had happened to their family. Heian. Tai. Summer. Yang.

Much of that blame was more than well deserved.

"We'll find her. Someday." Qrow promised, though he didn't know if he was promising to Ruby or himself. "But for now, we should focus on finding Torchwick. Can't have him running around robbing Dust shops again, can we?"

"Right." Ruby replied.

Qrow pulled out his Scroll and checked in with all the teams spread across Vale.

"Nora, anything going on by the docks?"

" _Nope. Everything is ship-shape captain!"_

"Blake, you and Weiss seeing anything up-town?"

" _We haven't seen or heard anything."_

"Jaune, what about your end of town?"

On the four-way call, there were loud kissing noises that were getting more and more intense every second. Ruby was blushing red as her cape. Qrow should never have let Jaune and Pyrrha go alone. Weiss loudly cleared her throat in a way that sounded like this was a common occurrence.

" _Oh! I'm sorry!"_ Pyrrha apologized when she realized they were being listened in on.

" _Uh, nope, everything's fine here sir!"_ Jaune replied embarrassed.

Qrow sighed in exacerbation, shook his head, and ended the call before he said something extremely impolite. He'd had more than enough of those two from the time he watched over them on the way to Mistral. He still remembered the couple's late-night "training sessions" in the woods, and he nearly vomited his whisky back up just thinking about it.

On the holoscreen, a breaking news report came on about an armed stand-off at a downtown nightclub. Ruby recognized the dark, seedy street front.

"Huh, that's funny." Ruby said.

"What's that?" Qrow asked.

"That's the club Yang busted-up three years ago."

* * *

Yang held a handgun in Junior Xiong's face across the bar. With his back to her, Spade held Melanie and Militia back at gunpoint. The club had emptied out quickly when the guns came out, and the rest of Junior's men had surrounded them with weapons drawn when the conversation had taken a sharp turn for the worst.

Which, unsurprisingly, had been the moment Junior saw Yang.

"Tell your men to back off." Yang growled. "Or I'm going to put a hole between your eyes."

Junior, of course, had not soon forgotten what Yang had done to his club the first time she came in three years ago. He'd been more cooperative when she'd come in there again with Neptune looking for Torchwick back in the day. Based on his reaction at Yang's reappearance, he would not be so accommodating this time around.

"Look, Blondie, I don't know why in the Hell you and your new boyfriend came in here." Junior said, hands held above his head. "But the cops are probably already on their way. If you don't want to make a scene, I'd suggest putting your weapons down before this gets out of hand. Again."

"You first."

Junior sighed and dropped his hands.

"Stand down boys." He ordered his men, and they all eased away. "What do you want this time?"

"Same as last time." Yang replied and dropped her weapon. Behind her, she felt Spade do the same. "Roman Torchwick."

"Again, I don't know where he is. All I know is that he showed back up in town a couple of years back, but he's been on the down-low ever since. My best guess is that he's working somewhere out of the warehouse district. Lot's of illegal trade going through there these days."

"Anything else?"

"That's it." Junior said and shook his head.

Without another word, Yang turned and started to walk away with Spade right behind her. They had what they needed, and it was best to exit before starting a brawl.

"What happened to you, Blondie?" Junior called out as they walked across the black glass dance floor. A red-tinted spotlight followed Yang and Spade across, bathing them both in bloody crimson illumination. Yang didn't answer Junior, but she thought the answer to herself.

 _I got blood on my hands._

* * *

"That was close." Spade said and lit his cigarette. "Orders were low profile."

"Yeah, I know." Yang leaned over to catch a light off the end of Spade's cigarette.

They leaned against an old brick building far away from the nightclub, listening for police sirens or other signs of pursuit on the night air. In the hour since leaving, no one had come after them. A close call, but they'd managed to get away clean.

"Think he'll tell the cops?" Spade asked.

"Nah. Junior's on the wrong side of the law on a good day. We're good."

Spade grunted and exhaled, sending a puff of smoke into the cool early spring sky.

Since sneaking into Vale and starting the wonderfully exciting process of intel gathering, Yang had not thought about much beyond the mission. Now that she had a quiet moment, what felt like a tenuous calm before the storm, Yang now had the opportunity to dwell on her thoughts and emotions.

 _I'm back in Vale. What happens if someone from my old life sees me? How do I respond to that?_

 _What do I do?_

Looking back, Yang realized she hadn't thought the mad rush to save Ruby through. She'd ran off at Raven's cryptic warning and nearly gotten herself killed trying to save a sister who may not even want to see her again. It was foolish, wishful thinking.

And Yang had paid the price.

 _Not quite an arm and a leg..._

Suddenly, Spade grabbed her robotic right hand. Yang blushed and jumped out of shock.

"Umm… Spade, what do you think you're doing?"

"Your arm's shaking." He replied bluntly, apparently oblivious to what would otherwise be a romantic move. He wasn't generally expressive as a rule, but he did care. In a cold, stand-offish sort of way. And he always knew when she was unsettled or upset.

"Oh, right."

They stood there a moment longer, holding hands in a backstreet alley, listening to the once familiar sounds of night time Vale around them.

"We should get going." Yang finally said.

"Yeah."

"Pick up some take out?"

"Sure."

They made their way back out onto the street, still holding hands as they meandered back to the hotel they were staying at and keeping an eye out for food, and tails, along the way. It was slow going, being careful not to be tracked to their temporary base. Paranoia, Yang had discovered the hard way, was a useful survival skill that, when switched on, couldn't ever really be turned back off.

As they walked under the street lamps, Yang wondered how it was that after so many tragedies had separated her from her family, she'd somehow found another one in Spade and Wintergreen.

 _A family of killers._

* * *

Back in the hotel suite they'd rented out for their extended stay in Vale proper, Qrow was balancing his chair on the back legs with a foot on the table and his flask in hand. The teams were gathered in the main room, and were going over every scrap of intel they'd managed to find over the past few days.

Finally, after days of exhausting work and sleepless patrols, they had a breakthrough.

"I tracked some Schnee Dust Company shipments to Vale." Weiss presented her research findings to the group. "And I found some holes in the books. The SDC's been sending freighters with cargo room to spare. And knowing my father, that's not normal."

"Your dad is okay with you spying on his shady business dealings?" Blake asked. From her days in the White Fang, now reforming itself for the better under Ghira Belladonna's renewed leadership, Blake did not trust the SDC and its "questionable" labor policies regarding Faunus. Qrow personally thought the current president Jacque Schnee was a greedy bastard of the highest order.

"Father can't object if he doesn't know about it." Weiss replied with what for her passed as a mischievous grin. Qrow raised his flask in appreciation. The girl was finally breaking out of the frosty shell of her childhood.

And he saw where Weiss was going with this. Not only was this information useful to track down Torchwick, it was also nearing evidence that Atlas was funding and supplying the operation. The SDC would be the most logical avenue to ship and distribute Atlas weapons across the world. And if it turned a profit, Qrow was sure Papa Schnee would be all for exporting death and violence by proxy.

"Okay, so where are they going?" Jaune asked from the couch.

"We observed some of the SDC freighters in the docks unloading cargo into unmarked trucks." Ren chimed in, which was rare but always helpful. "They were headed to the warehouse district."

"We think we got it narrowed down to a few blocks." Nora finished cheerfully. "Now all that's left is to storm in and break their spines!"

"Perhaps not so… _dramatically_." Pyrrha suggested. She'd been rather quiet that particular evening, and Qrow got the impression that she had a big announcement to make.

"Okay, so we're already to go?" Ruby asked everyone.

"Sounds good to me." Blake replied, reading over some maps of the district that she'd scouted earlier in the day. "It should be pretty straight forward."

"We should go in with a game plan." Jaune said with a tinge of concern that had crept into his voice recently. Qrow would bet money, if he had any, that it had something to do with whatever was on Pyrrha's mind.

"Have we ever needed a plan?" Blake asked.

"Fair point."

"So, it's decided!" Ruby said, standing and taking charge as usual. "We'll head in tomorrow night and stop Torchwick once and for all!"

"When did we agree on tomorrow?" Weiss asked.

"Well, we just did."

The youngest Schnee sister, who was becoming a marginally less up-tight version of Winter, smiled and shook her head. That was that. They had, part, of a plan.

Qrow smiled, set his chair back on the ground, and got up to go to the bathroom. He liked how little he needed to help the kids these days. They were really coming into their own, and in some ways, much better than Team STRQ ever had when they were the same age. Soon enough, they'd be Huntsmen in their own right out in the world kicking ass and taking names.

And, apparently, parents.

"YOU'RE WHAT!?" Nora screamed on the other side of the refresher door, more so out of joy than terror.

"Oh my Gosh!" Ruby exclaimed. "You're pregnant! Pyrrha, when were you going to tell us!?"

Qrow heard Pyrrha and Jaune explain the situation, which was met with enthusiastic congratulations and all the other happy talk that accompanied the announcement of a baby on the way, and he smiled to himself.

He wasn't much one for kids, but he realized again just how important they had been in his life. If it hadn't been for Yang and Ruby, Qrow might very well have ended up dead on the side of he road somewhere. Those girls were the two best things that happened to him. And after the disaster at Haven, the other members of RWBY and JNPR had become like his kids as well. They were, in some weird way, a family.

 _Timing could have been better. Maybe turning down being the Fall Maiden was the best thing to happen to Pyrrha. And Jaune. They'll be great parents._

 _Much better than I was._

If there was one regret from his past that Qrow couldn't come to terms with, it wasn't being there to stop Raven from taking Heian away from his family.

 _Okay, two regrets. I shouldn't have let Yang go, either._

But that was the past. Qrow couldn't change it, however much he wanted to.

All any of them could do was look forward to the future.

And hope the mistakes of the past didn't rip it away.

* * *

"So that's your plan?" Spade asked while he cleaned Broken Shovel, which he always did when he wasn't eating, fighting, or sleeping. "Go in, sneak your way through all the guards, put a round in Torchwick, get out of town before anyone notices?"

"Pretty much."

"You know, that's not a bad plan."

Yang smiled and took another bite of her faux-Mistral take-out. The plan, based on a week's meticulous grind for information on their target's routine and whereabouts, was a bit more nuanced than that. Spade would provide sniper cover outside the multi-tiered warehouse they'd identified as Torchwick's weapons distribution hub. Yang would go in, find the hat-wearing criminal mastermind, and kill him.

There was, however, a Plan B.

"There's someone else that we might have to deal with inside." Yang said, outlining the fall-back strategy should they need to use it. "Torchwick had this little ice-cream chick named Neo last time I fought him. She could jump around like a damn butterfly, and she did this weird teleport thing where she shattered and ended up somewhere else. If she shows up and starts a fight, I'll need you to take her out."

"Got it." Spade replied and ran a cleaning rod through his rifle's long barrel for the millionth time.

Yang's decision to leave Neo to Spade wasn't because she was afraid of fighting her again. Yang was hoping to get the job done without fighting at all. It was because, between the two of them, Spade stood the best chance. His Semblance was so potent that it was kind of terrifying. He could practically "see" everything around him, every small detail and movement in an environment. That was part of what made him such a superb sniper and scout. Given a half-decent perch, he was instant death from a kilometer away as well as a bloody terror in hand-to-hand if it came down to that. If anyone could decipher Neo's deceptive fighting style and be able to take her down, it was him.

"We're going in tomorrow night." Yang stated, glancing at the map of the warehouse district they'd marked up with sniping positions, entrances, and escape routes. "Let's get this over with so we can get back to the others. I never thought I'd miss the front lines so much."

"Wetwork too boring for you?" Spade teased.

"I just want to get out of here as soon as we can."

Spade's Semblance also made it frustratingly easy to read her.

"You worried about running into your friends?"

Normally, Spade kept his spooky, nigh supernatural observations to himself. But this close to the mission, he wanted to make sure Yang was okay.

"Yeah." Yang admitted and stared up at the ceiling of their rundown hotel room. "I don't know what I'd do if I saw them again. Honestly, I'd rather not have to do it at all."

"At least you can go back to them if you wanted to." Spade said sadly, looking out the window at something in the distance that was likely not there anymore.

He'd never talked about his life before becoming a mercenary, about training to be a Huntsman, or his childhood in Vacuo. Yang hadn't either, come to that, but he knew enough about why she was expelled to get the picture. She immediately felt bad reminding him about a past that was probably every bit as painful as her own.

"What happened to them?" Yang asked, not sure why she was suddenly so interested in her partner. It may have been out of concerned curiosity. "Your team, I mean."

Spade looked away from the window, deep sadness and old anger in his usually cold yet kind grey eyes.

"I didn't have anyone growing up. When I managed to get into Shade, I finally had a family. Hal, Lambert, Ennen. Team SHLE. They were assholes, but they were my mates. My brothers. Then some exchange students came in and killed them in cold blood. I got my revenge, but it was too late to save my friends."

"And they still kicked you out, knowing that?"

"Yeah, and the Headmaster had an elbow twisted behind their back the whole time. And even if I hadn't been expelled, I didn't have a reason to stay anymore. After that… well, you know the rest."

No, Yang saw there was much more to the story than that, but she didn't press for more details.

"Spade, I'm so sorry."

"You know what was the worst part? I didn't get to bury their bodies. All I got were pieces of their weapons and armor."

He reassembled his rifle and held it close to his chest. Some parts were metal painted in various colors, others a scratched up dull grey polymer, others inlaid with carved red wood. Yang had always wondered why it was a crazy mismatch of colors, textures, and materials.

 _Now I know._

The rest of the night passed in sorrowful silence. There they were, two professional killers who had ended up paying the price of killing because they had no other choice and carrying the scars of the life they'd left behind. Spade had a rifle literally made out of pieces of his dead brothers, and Yang had a prosthetic arm, a reminder of everyone she'd lost.

They'd killed because of their family.

And they were about to do it again.


	10. Promises

**Chapter 10:**

 **Promises**

It had started to snow when Yang and Spade made their way to the warehouse district. The last vestiges of winter fell from the sky and chilled the air around them, making their breath become fog as it drifted away into the night sky. Tiny crystal flakes landed on the streets and rooftops of Vale by the thousands. In a few hours, the entire city would be frosted white before the first warmth of spring came and melted it all away.

Yang intended to be long gone by then.

"Go careful, alright?" Spade said as Yang readied her gear in an alley a few blocks away from their target.

"I will. Just be ready to back me up."

"Got it." He replied and scrambled up a fire escape to the rooftops.

Sneaking alone through the hidden backways and deserted alleys, Yang idly remembered her younger days, wandering aimlessly about and causing trouble on these same streets.

Those days were long behind her now, along with everything and everyone else.

Pushing the thoughts of the past back once again, as she did time after time, Yang set out to complete her mission.

 _Torchwick or not, past or not, I have to keep moving forward._

 _I still have a job to do._

* * *

"Okay boys and girls, this is it." Qrow said into his Scroll to the teams spread out across the warehouse district. "We find Torchwick and end this crap tonight. Stay together and stay alive. I don't want to fill out any paperwork. Everyone got it?"

 _"Got it."_ They all responded.

Qrow hung up and turned to Pyrrha standing in the snow-swept alley behind him. He'd wanted to speak with her in private ever since the bombshell had been dropped the night before, so Qrow sent Jaune with Ruby and brought Pyrrha along with him to keep an eye on her. It hadn't been without protest from the father-to-be, but it was ultimately for the best.

"Look, I know you'd rather be up with the others, but it's better if you stayed back right now. It's not just your life on the line now."

"I know." Pyrrha said and gently rested a hand on her still-flat stomach. "Thank you, Qrow. I'll try not to do anything rash."

Nodding, Qrow wondered how in the world he was going to explain this little complication to Ozpin. Graduation was still months away, and soon Pyrrha wouldn't be able to do fighting of any kind as the pregnancy progressed. They would have to work something out.

 _Maybe Ozpin will bend the rules and make this mission their final exam or something. She's earned it. They all have._

That was tomorrow, however, and Qrow had to focus on tonight.

Qrow wasn't a fan of foreswearing himself, and he knew that his Semblance put Pyrrha and her unborn child in danger, but he was determined to do all he could to keep them both from harm. He silently vowed to himself that he would protect them, even if that meant just keeping her as far from the fighting as possible.

 _I'm not good with promises, but I have to try._

He just hoped that he hadn't made a promise he couldn't keep.

* * *

When she came upon the three-story warehouse, Yang found that it was crawling with guards. But after two years serving in Wintergreen's army, small and informal as that was, she knew professional soldiers when she saw them. The way the carried themselves on their patrol routes, the way the held their weapons, the distinct way they walked. All the clear result of countless hours of training and drill. Mercs. Well-armed ones, too.

 _Torchwick's upgraded his muscle. Must be making bank in the arms business._

Yang approached the perimeter fence that cut off the heavily guarded warehouse, made sure the coast was clear, and scrambled over. The frosted metal burned her left fingers, but she ignored the numbing pain and pressed on.

 _My hands will warm up when I start punching fools._

 _Well, hand._

Aside from her fists, Yang only had a suppressed pistol to do the deed of capping Torchwick. If a fight broke out, as it usually did, Yang would ditch the guns and do what she did best.

She'd lost a lot of weapons doing that.

Taking one last look around, Yang broke the lock on a door and stepped inside.

The warehouse interior was huge. She was in the main storage section, and the industrial grade shelves were three stories tall and filled to the brim with what looked like normal, perfectly legal goods. The occasional fluorescent light far above was the only illumination in the building, and there were plenty of dark spaces in between to sneak around in.

 _"I've lost track of you. Got your ears on?"_ Spade's voice said in her ear in all the glorious, static-filled sound quality of used military hardware.

"Loud and clear." Yang responded to the cheeky mike-check with a whisper into the transmitter in her jacket collar, which was wired to the earpiece wedged into her right eardrum. "I'm on the first floor. Anything going on outside?"

 _"Yeah, we've got company. Six Huntsmen moving in a sloppy search pattern around the block. I don't think they've pinpointed your building yet. Make it quick, would you?"_

"Got it."

 _Just my luck. Huntsmen show up right when we do. This place'll be crawling with cops soon._

 _What if it's…?_

Yang shook the thought aside. She had to find Torchwick.

As she moved swiftly and silently through the warehouse, Yang heard voices that got louder the deeper in she got. Turning a corner, Yang found that the center area had been cleared of shelving and was piled high with military crates of various sizes, ready to ship out through the truck loading docks further on. Some of the crates were opened for inspection. Lots of guns. Thousands upon thousands of Dust rounds. Ordnance, everything from artillery shells to aircraft missiles.

And in the middle of the massive cache of explosive contraband stood Yang's target.

"I asked for four million Lien in advance for your order." Roman Torchwick said into the Scroll he held away from his mouth with one hand while he leaned on his cane with the other. "My bank account is looking a little empty. Would you care to explain?"

" _We sent you a case of cash that should cover your fees."_ A deep, gravelly voice responded over speaker. Yang didn't recognize it, and didn't really care who it was anyways.

"A case with four million Lien in it! Not one. Not two. Not three. _Four million_. What am I supposed to do with an empty case!"

 _"We're warriors, not merchants."_

"But you can still count! Let me make this clear. Zero Lien, _zero_ crates!" Torchwick hung up and grumbled to himself. "And here I was thinking the White Fang was bad. These dumb mercs will be the death of me!"

It was at that moment the alarms went off.

"Speaking of which." Torchwick groaned and called out into the darkness of the warehouse. "Would someone _please_ go deal with whatever that is!"

Yang, seeing the opportunity and grateful for the distraction, stepped out of the shadows and into the light. She had to close in for the kill now, before whatever was happening outside came crashing in. If Torchwick got away, or was captured by the Huntsmen, there would never be another opportunity to get him. He'd probably just escape from prison again anyway.

 _But why didn't Spade warn me?_

Just as she stalked forward, pulled the pistol from her jacket pocket, and raised it to aim at Torchwick's head, Yang felt a thin, razor-sharp blade materialize across her throat.

 _I fucking knew it!_

At the end of it, standing to her left, was Neo. The petite pink and brown-haired girl was staring at her with a smug, amused grin. Still holding her weaponized umbrella to Yang's neck, Neo raised her free hand and loudly snapped her gloved fingers.

"Woah!" Torchwick snapped around, genuine surprise on his face. "How did you get in here!?"

Then he finally recognized the would-be assassin standing before him.

"Hello, Blondie." He said with a twirl of his cane. "We really gotta' stop meeting like this. People are gonna' to talk."

Yang considered shooting Torchwick then and there, consequences be damned, but she knew that Neo would take her head off before she could even get her finger around the trigger. Her captor made a mute dropping motion with her hand, and having no other choice but to comply, Yang let go of her gun. Neo then kicked it away from her feet, and the handgun clattered away across the concrete floor.

"Thank you, Neo." Torchwick put his hands behind his back and sauntered forward. "Now, where have you been all this time? Things go bad after that little _incident_ during the Vytal Festival?"

"Like I'd tell you?" Yang replied, keeping her anger in check.

"Sweetheart, I don't know if you noticed, but I'm in control right now."

"Oh really? Doesn't sound like it outside." Yang observed, still wondering why Spade hadn't tried to call in. Was he fighting the Huntsmen? She couldn't hear anything over the klaxons this deep inside the warehouse.

"Now that you mention it, I don't expect the guards to be of any help." Torchwick replied with an exacerbated sigh. "So, I think it's time for me to make my grand escape. And as much as I'd love to stay and chat, not to mention thank you for killing that silver-haired brat Mercury, this is where we must part ways. Neo, if you please."

Just as Neo was about to behead Yang with a single fluid flick of the wrist, the outside wall exploded behind her.

Spade knew how to make an entrance.

His face and clothes were blackened from the explosion, and brought his rifle down to break Neo and Yang apart with the shovel-like blade usually hidden in the butt-stock. Spade often only used Broken Shovel's melee mode as an entrenching tool, they'd had to dig a lot of trenches over the years, but it could become a lethal combat "spear" if he needed it to be.

Neo backflipped away onto a nearby crate, and came up with her head cocked and an eyebrow raised at the man who'd just attacked her with a strange looking shovel.

"How we doing?" He asked Yang, never taking his eyes of Neo for a second.

As if in response, about a dozen guards came rushing into view with guns raised.

"Same as always." Yang replied wryly and raised her fists.

"That bad huh?"

Yang and Spade stood back to back, as they had in Junior's club and plenty of other fights before, staring down the room full of armed mercenaries and the sociopathic two-toned bitch who'd nearly killed Yang twice before.

"Somebody kill them!" Torchwick ordered and raised his cane to fire at them.

 _Game on._

Just as the first guard opened fire, Yang sprang forward, grabbed the gun from his hand, and slammed it right back into his face before throwing it forcefully at the guy next to him. Then she lept from soldier to soldier, punching wildly and with impunity as she went. Spade whirled Broken Spade around in his hand and swiftly shot down five of his guys from the hip. Then Neo jumped on him from out of nowhere, but Spade, thanks to his Semblance and sharp reflexes, saw her coming and immediately turned to face her.

After firing his first, and only, shot into the melee, Torchwick was running for the stairs at the end of the warehouse.

"Go!" Spade shouted as he effortlessly dodged a slash from Neo's blade.

Seeing that they were pretty evenly matched, Yang dropped the last guard standing and ran after Torchwick. She wished she had Ember Celica so she could just blast her way to the top rather than chase him up the stairs. On the third-floor catwalk suspended above the cleared center section, just as Yang climbed the last flight of stairs, Torchwick disappeared into the smoke filled gloom between the lights.

 _What the…?_

The floodlights of a previously concealed Bullhead dropship blazed to life, blinding Yang for a second as the craft's engines spun up. She just barely dodged the twin missiles that streaked past her and blew yet another hole in the side of the building.

 _Take a girl for a ride, eh?_

Yang didn't have a second to lose.

The dropship accelerated toward the new opening, and she grabbed the tail-fin with one hand and hung on tight as they thundered out and up into the cold black sky.

* * *

"Umm, Qrow?" Pyrrha said, pointing to the orange tinged column of smoke against the sky emerging from a few buildings away and the unmistakable silhouette of a Bullhead dropship against the cracked moon.

"Yeah, I see it." Qrow replied. He felt his Scroll vibrate in his pocket, and he pulled it out to see Ruby was calling him.

"Ruby, what the hell's going on!"

 _"I don't know! Some guy busted into a building me and Jaune were about to check out, and then the whole place_ exploded!" His niece explained between shots from Crescent Rose in the background. _"The others are here with us and we're fighting the guards. I think there's someone still fighting inside."_

"Okay, I'll go after that Bullhead. Stay safe kiddo."

 _"You too, Uncle Qrow."_

Qrow hung up and rammed the Scroll into his pocket.

"Stay here." He said to Pyrrha standing behind him. Qrow didn't want to leave her, but someone had to chase down that dropship, which no doubt had Torchwick aboard. If he escaped, then he'd go to ground and they'd never catch him again. It was now or never.

"But I can help!" Pyrrha protested. "I'm pregnant, not useless!"

"A one pound bird can't carry a one-sixty pound girl. I mean it! Stay put."

He didn't hear exactly what she said next, though it might have been something about the approximation of her weight. Qrow transformed into a crow, pumped his wings as hard as he could, and flew with all the speed he could muster after the escaping Bullhead.

As Qrow closed the distance, he could barely make out the shape of someone hanging off the side of the dropship with his sharper avian eyes. They seemed to be punching away at whatever was in reach, and pieces started falling away with each hit. In his surprise, he gave them points for creativity, if not for sheer bullheaded determination.

 _Who the hell'd be crazy enough to take on a dropship with their bare hands?_

Eventually, after taking one hell of a very literal pounding, one of the engines on the wingtip started smoking and sputtering. The craft began to loose altitude and quickly descend toward the ground in a sort of half-gliding freefall.

 _I can't believe that actually worked._

Qrow was about to follow it down, but then something, like a swift moving shadow against the cold black of night, caught his eye. He almost didn't see what it, or who, it was until they were far too close to evade.

It was a raven.

The larger black bird slammed into him, sending them both into their own violent descent.


	11. Demons

**Chapter 11:**

 **Demons**

As Qrow fell to earth locked in mortal avian combat with Raven, he thought back to remember a time when he and his sister used to fight over everything. His whole life was a pretty acceptable margin. They'd had plenty of fights that turned physical over the years, but looking back, he couldn't think of an instance when they'd come to blows while in bird form. This was a first.

What wasn't a first, however, was Raven swooping in to fuck up everyone's day.

Right when they were about to hit the roof of an office building, they disengaged from their feathery melee and shifted back to human just in the nick of time. The Branwen siblings landed on their feet, glaring at each other with weapons drawn and every intent to use them.

 _Right where we started._

"What the fuck are you doing here!?" Qrow growled, holding his massive broadsword at the ready out of reflex.

"Cleaning up another of your messes, from the looks of it."

"Are you helping Torchwick?"

"Who?"

"Nevermind."

"Qrow, you and I both know Heian wasn't going to stop with Haven. He's been running this entire proxy war from behind the scenes. He sent those assassins to Vale for whoever this Torchwick guy is. Why do you think he'd do that?"

He thought about it for a moment, running through every detail he had in his mind. Then he came to the best, or the worst, possible conclusion. Heian was targeting Atlas's weapons distribution, going straight for one head of the King Taijitu. When the arms and ammunition coming from the North dried up, then all the other mercenary groups not already under his command would flock to his cause, and he'd be that much closer to striking at the other head directly.

And starting a war.

"So, we're just supposed to stand by and let Torchwick get away?" Qrow asked. "The lesser of two evils is still evil."

"I don't care what happens to Torchwick."

"Then why'd you come?"

"There's more going on here than you realize." Raven said cryptically.

"Care to fill me in?"

"I can't tell you, Qrow."

Raven brandished her sword, letting tiny flakes of snow fall upon the blade.

"But I can't let you interfere either."

 _That's it then._

Qrow tensed, raised his sword, and prepared to fight a battle that he'd fought before yet was long, _long_ overdue.

"Okay." He said to his sister. "Let's go."

Without another word, the brother and sister clashed, the ring of silver and red metal echoing ghostly on the cold air. Sparks flew as the weapons connected and sang. Qrow would have transformed his sword to its scythe form against a similarly strong opponent, but then he'd have been at a disadvantage if Raven got inside his guard. And she tended to fight like an in-your-face demon on a good day.

But as the duel raged on for what seemed like hours, something started to feel off to Qrow. Out of place. Raven was his sister, so he knew, from their violent childhood and four years at Beacon, who she was and how she fought.

The woman fighting him wasn't the same Raven he'd grown up with. That determination in her eyes was gone for the moment. She wasn't fighting to win.

All Raven was doing was stalling him.

"What are you really here for?" He asked during a lull in the fighting. "You didn't come all the way to Vale just to cut off my head, because you could have done that already if you really wanted to."

"I told you I would do everything in my power to stop Heian. That's exactly what I'm doing."

"By letting Torchwick sell weapons for Atlas?"

"How many times do I have to say it? I don't know who Torchwick is and I don't give a damn."

"So, what the is it then? What are you trying so damn hard to hide?"

Raven paused for a moment, regarding him steadily and coldly.

"Our only chance to stop Heian."

Before Qrow could reply, Raven cut open a portal in the air, jumped through it, and disappeared. The portal closed as he lept for it, and skidded to a halt looking back at the empty, snow-filled space.

"Damn it!" Qrow shouted into the night sky, unbelievably frustrated that she'd escaped just before he got any answers.

 _Again._

"Damn." He cursed silently.

Leaving the now cut-up rooftop behind, Qrow set out to find Ruby and the others. Whoever Raven had been protecting at the Bullhead crash site was likely long gone by that point. He'd go check it out later for clues, after he'd rounded up the kids and the fire crews put out the blaze he could see from several blocks away. He tried his Scroll, but the screen was cracked and unusable. His own Bad Luck Charm really screwed him over sometimes.

Reasoning that whoever Ruby had encountered at the warehouse fled in the direction of the dropship, and that Ruby had likely pursued the same way, Qrow followed the path toward the smaller beacon of smoke rising silently into the night.

The closer her got, Qrow cold hear gunshots booming nearby. The familiar crack of Ruby's Crescent Rose, and the sound of another weapon he didn't recognize. Whoever Ruby was chasing, they were putting up a fight. There was a long pause in the thunderous battle, and the cold air fell silent. Qrow quickened his pace, running for what little he was worth, desperate to get to Ruby before something bad happened to her.

Then a final, haunting shot echoed alone into the night.

He came upon a clearing covered with snow.

That's where he found her.

The red-haired girl lying dead, the white snow stained red with her blood.

* * *

 _Okay, maybe not my best idea._

Yang's whole body hurt like Hell frozen over, and then warmed on ultra-high in an oversized microwave. Her bones felt like they were made of glass melted to boiling magma in that same microwave, and her skin felt like someone had poured Dust on her and proceeded to set her on fire.

She was pretty sure she would have preferred that to riding a flaming dropship into the ground.

 _Talk about crashing and burning._

Leaning against a charred brick-wall, Yang shakily got to her feet and looked around. The whole area was a scorched mess, to say the very least. The Bullhead's wreckage was burning in the middle of a blackened crater, melting all the snow away. Somehow, they'd managed to make their crash-landing in a cleared area between the buildings.

Like a scene out of Hell.

 _There's no way Torchwick survived that._

And then the bastard, minus hat and cane, stumbled out of the wreck, his suit more than a little singed but still very much alive.

 _Oh, come on!_

"Just got this thing cleaned." Torchwick complained and dusted himself off.

He swiveled his head around, trying to get his bearings, and his eyes widened when he saw her still standing.

"Oh, hey Blondie." He said calmly. "I think we're even from that time I slammed you into a concrete column. So how about we call it a night and go our separate ways?"

" _Like… hell._ " Yang said, trying to catch her breath.

"The only thing that looks like Hell here is you." Torchwick observed sarcastically. "You can barely stand, much less do anything else. So, if you don't mind, I'm going to take this wonderful opportunity to fake my death and waltz right on out of here."

Torchwick spun on his heel and started to walk away.

After everything he'd done to her, to Ruby, to every single person he'd ever hurt, Yang couldn't just let him get away. But Torchwick was right. She could feel her legs about to buckle under her weight. She had no strength left in her tired, aching body.

"Sir?" Someone shouted from out of sight. "Sir, are you alright?"

"Oh, son of a…" Torchwick groaned.

Yang had been expecting cops to come around the corner. Instead, six Atlas soldiers stepped into the clearing, weapons raised and scanning for threats. But their uniform armor did not have the same colored markings as she'd seen in the past, and their weapons weren't the standard issue combat rifle either. Black markings. Suppressed carbines.

She'd only seen soldiers equipped like that in one other place. Wintergreen's personal squad of highly dangerous defectors and traitors.

Atlas Special Forces.

 _What the hell is Atlas doing here?_

"A good evening to you too, gentlemen." Torchwick replied, as if he knew them.

"What happened?" The lead soldier asked, his face hidden behind a balaclava and advanced optics.

"Well, the mercenaries you hired to protect me were worth every Lien, for one thing."

"Cut the crap, Torchwick."

He just pointed at Yang.

Two of the soldiers were on her before Yang could even think about moving a muscle. She was about to collapse from exhaustion when one of them slammed her down on the ground and held a gun to the back of her head. His partner did a quick and thorough search through her clothing.

"No weapons or ID." The trooper reported.

"Friend of yours?" The squad leader asked to Torchwick.

"Nope. Would you kindly dispose of her? After all, witnesses are kinda' bad for business."

Then all the pieces fell together.

 _He didn't escape. They let him out._

 _He works for them._

From her place on the gravel, Yang saw the leader nod once to the man at her back.

It was in that moment, on the very edge between life and death, Yang's mind went completely blank. That switch in her brain had been flipped. The switch that had been thrown in every battle she'd fought. That same primal instinct that had been triggered when Mercury attacked her a lifetime ago. That unthinking, unreasoning, pure animal will to survive.

 _Kill._

She twisted her arm around, grabbed the muzzle of the soldier's gun with her left hand as it fired, sending the round that had been aimed at her skull slamming into the ground next to her. Her hand peeled off the searing hot suppressor as she dragged her would be killer down to the ground beside her and twisted his masked head until his neck snapped.

 _Kill._

Yang wasn't even human anymore. Her eyes had turned red, her Semblance activating of its own accord. But she did not feel any emotion. No anger, no desperate or uncontrolled rage. Nothing. Not even cold emptiness.

It just felt like fire.

The sort of flame that burns without any regard for what it consumes.

 _Kill._

For the next few moments, she moved swiftly from soldier to soldier, taking life unconsciously and indiscriminately. The bullets fired wildly from suppressed weapons just bounced harmlessly off her rapidly restoring Aura, their kinetic energy turning into more fuel for the fire that raged through her and burned away at everything it touched.

 _Kill. Kill. Kill._

When she finally came back to her senses, there were six broken bodies on the ground, their blood soaking into the gravel where they lay. Spent and smoking shell casings clinked away as she walked over the corpses toward Torchwick, who was scrambling on the ground in absolute terror of what came for him.

"What… what _are you_!?"

She reached down, grabbed Torchwick by the collar, and dragged him up to look her in the eye.

"I'm the one who's going to end you."

Yang didn't know how many times she hit him. The swing of the pendulum from mindless murder to unchecked wrath was instant. Torchwick fell to the ground, and Yang was on top of him to continue the vengeful onslaught.

 _You son of a bitch! You hurt Ruby! You hurt my friends! Die you piece of shit! Just. Fucking. Die!_

But just as she was about to ram her metal right fist through his already bruised and bloody face, someone grabbed her prosthetic arm from behind.

"Yang, that's enough!" Spade said, restraining her with an iron grip and not letting go.

"Let me go!" Yang protested and tried to wrench her fist free, her temporary strength finally fading away. "Let me kill him! He hurt my sister! He needs to fucking die!"

"So have we, Yang! Do you know how many lives we've taken!? Do you know how many sisters, brother, fathers, and mothers we've killed? At the end of the day, we're no different from him!"

That made Yang freeze. She looked around at the carnage strewn around her. At the blood she'd spilled, the lives taken, with her own two hands.

She stared her own horror, her own inner darkness, right in the eyes.

And she couldn't even flinch.

 _I'm a killer._

 _And I have to live with that._

"Spade, we can't let him go. Not after what he's done. I have to finish it."

Yang picked up one of the Atlas rifles off the ground, stood, and pointed it at the bloody and broken man at her feet.

"Why'd you do it?" Yang asked. For some reason, she had to know. She had to look for some reason that they were different after all. "What did you have to gain from starting that Grimm attack three years ago? From selling weapons for Atlas?"

"You're asking the wrong questions, Blondie." Torchwick replied, his voice still clear despite the utterly brutal beating he had taken just moments before. "It's not about what I had to gain. It's that I couldn't afford to lose."

He coughed up blood.

"Do you really think… that killing me will make people forget what you are? What you've done?"

Yang already knew the answer.

She pulled the trigger, and carved off another piece of her soul.


	12. Phantoms

**Chapter 12:**

 **Phantoms**

" _Uncle Qrow?"_

Qrow thought he could hear Ruby's voice.

He was on his knees, the snow melting beneath him and soaking into his pants. The snow kept falling, cold white flakes descending endlessly upon the earth as if to freeze the moment in time. And he looked on, at all the horror and the pain and the sadness, unable to tear his gazeless stare away from the crimson pool of bloodied snow beneath the still warm body of a young woman he'd seen alive and well only minutes before.

 _Why couldn't she have just stayed put?_

She had fallen on her shield Akouo, her spear Milo still gripped tightly in her gloved hand. She had died fighting, but that offered Qrow no comfort. She shouldn't have been there at all, but he knew that she'd gone to fight anyway, intent to help her friends regardless of the danger to herself. Out of compassion and love so deep it was instinct.

 _Why did she have to die?_

Qrow was sure he'd never see white snow again for the rest of his life.

And he'd never unsee the two-centimeter bullet hole in the middle of her chest.

"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked again softly, almost at a whisper.

Finally, Qrow was able to meet his niece's weeping eyes.

She was on her knees next to him, her soot-blackened face streaked with tears. He had no idea how long she'd been there, crying for the friend she'd lost. Qrow felt like they were trapped inside a snow globe. Trapped with the snow, the blood, and the death.

 _Summer, I failed again._

 _I can't ask for forgiveness, can I?_

"Guys?" He heard Jaune approach from behind.

Qrow could bear to turn and look him in the eye.

"Ruby, Qrow, what's going…?"

All sound faded out of the world. Qrow didn't move a muscle as Jaune ran around to the other side of Pyrrha's body, tears streaming like waterfalls down his cheeks and howling eerily silent as he held her in his arms. Time again froze in place, leaving Qrow to look at the girl's emerald eyes stare lifelessly into the dark void for an eternity.

 _Like a fucking snow globe…_

Eventually, the snowflakes stopped melting on her pale skin.

Pyrrha Nikos, age twenty, was dead. And the little life that had begun growing within her, the little life that hadn't even been born yet, was gone too. Jaune had lost both his love and his child in a single, soul-crushing instant.

For him, the world would be cold without her. It would feel like winter lasts all year.

The others started showing up, joining in the shock and the grief. Nora fell to the ground and held her mouth in her hands. Ren stood with his head bowed, his fists clenched at his sides. Weiss and Blake looked literally stunned, staring on in disoriented confusion and disbelief, as if what they were seeing couldn't possibly be real.

But it was.

Qrow wanted to blame it all on Raven. On Torchwick. On Atlas. On Heian. On whoever it was that had pulled the trigger without ever knowing they'd just killed an expecting mother.

But all Qrow could do was blame himself. He'd been so focused on his sudden but brief fight with Raven that he'd lost track of the greater battle in his haste for answers.

And Pyrrha had paid the price.

 _I made a promise. I made a promise to protect her._

 _And I failed._

 _Again._

Qrow finally closed his eyes, and saw what he always saw when he went to sleep at night.

He saw ghosts.

* * *

"Bloody fucking Atlas." Spade said, studying the bodies of the soldiers at his feet.

To Yang, something in Spade's voice didn't sound right, but then she was just coming off the adrenaline high of a mindless murder spree. He looked pretty banged up. His clothes were dirty with soot and dirt, his jacket was nearly cut to ribbons in places, and burned in blackened patches where they weren't. His short brownish-blonde hair was singed. Maybe the fighting had shaken him.

"Dang, did Neo do that?"

"The cuts, yeah. You were right, the girl's a bloody mute banshee. Everything else is from being in a burning building right as it came crashing down on my head."

"What about all the weapons and ammo?"

"What do you think caused the building to explode? Neo pulled a runner before the whole lot went up and almost took me with it."

"Well that takes care of the EOD. Sergeant Barley will be pissed."

"I think we don't tell her about this one."

Sergeant Barley was Wintergreen's EOD specialist, and hell on anyone who failed to follow proper explosives handling protocol to the letter. Yang and Spade had run afoul of her more times than either of them could count, usually when they had to "improvise" during a mission.

"Yeah, that's a good call."

Yang, finally exhausted past all ability to stand and even joke, collapsed.

"Whoa, steady on." Spade grabbed her before she fell to the ground, draping her arm over his shoulder. There were both running on fumes, and Yang was still awake only thanks to the last dregs of adrenaline. "Come on, we need to get out of there. This area's going to be crawling with cops soon. I know a place nearby we can hole up for a while."

As Spade helped Yang limp away from the wreckage, and the bodies, she thought about what Torchwick had said.

 _"It's not about what I had to gain. It's that I couldn't afford to lose."_

Based on that, Yang could guess that he'd done everything he did for one reason.

Survival.

 _Are we so different? I'm here because I killed someone in self-defense. Spade is too. We all are, one way or another. Is it really different when you kill a Grimm versus killing another human being? We fight and maim and kill each other just to see the sunrise._

 _Is that all we are? Humanity? Just a bunch of killers? Are we any different from the monsters?_

Before she could ask Spade about her feelings, Yang started to fall asleep on her feet.

 _Is killing… just in our nature?_

* * *

"Oz, you know I never intended for any of this to happen."

Ozpin just sat back in his chair, his hands clasped in deep thought, looking well past the point of tired grief. He, the one who had vouched loud and proud for Pyrrha to become the Fall Maiden, had not taken the news of her death well or lightly. And to make matters worse, Ironwood had come to Vale in person within hours of what was now being called the "Downtown Vale Incident".

For his part, Qrow just sat back and watched from the shadows of Ozpin's office. He was torn between shooting Ironwood on the spot, and doing the world a favor and shooting himself.

" _So do all who live to see such times_." Ozpin replied distantly, as if remembering some long-forgotten event from the past. " _But that is not for us to decide_ …"

"Oz…"

"I believe that you had every good intention, James." Ozpin came back to the present. "But the fact remains that you let a dangerous criminal out of prison to do your dirty work."

"I did what was _necessary_!" Ironwood slammed his metal fist on the glass table. "You sit here in your tower while our enemy burns Remnant to the ground. _Someone_ had to take action!"

"At what price, James? The lives of my students? Of all the lives in Mistral?"

"Pyrrha Nikos's death is not my doing and you know it!"

"Yeah, it is."

Qrow couldn't stand back and listen to Ironwood try and duck the blame anymore. He had his own share of responsibility for Pyrrha's death, and that would haunt him for the rest of his life, but Qrow had words to say to the good General of Atlas.

"If Torchwick hadn't been here, Jimmy, then none of this would have happened. Heian wouldn't have sent his assassins after your little pawn. We wouldn't have been there the same time they were. And Jaune wouldn't be downstairs mourning his girlfriend _and_ his own child."

 _That_ got through to Ironwood.

"Pyrrha was…?"

"Yeah. Feel good about your plan now?"

A long, grave, and silent moment passed as Ironwood absorbed that information. Qrow watched as his face took a dark turn from self-certain to ghostly.

"I…" Ironwood choked. "I am so sorry…"

"That's not going to bring either of them back." Qrow responded, gazing out the window at a red dawn sky.

Without another word, Ironwood turned on his heel and walked toward the elevator.

"Oz, Qrow, I am truly sorry for how this situation turned out. But I'm not going to let some psychopath tear down everything we've worked so hard to build. Even if I have to do it alone."

As the elevator doors began to close, Ironwood turned his gaze away.

"Goodbye."

That was that. The already fragile alliance between Ozpin and Ironwood, and by extension Atlas, had been broken. Another of Ozpin's inner circle had been turned away by their enemies. First, Leo by siding with Salem. And now Ironwood, by contending with Heian. Two of the Headmasters of Remnant were gone.

One was dead. The other had reverted to being a soldier.

 _Divided and conquered._

Salem had what she always wanted. They were broken, all but defenseless against the growing shadow of war, and Ironwood was off to combat Heian the only way he knew how.

By waging war in equal measure.

"So… that's it then." Qrow said into the heavy silence.

"His heart is in the right place." Ozpin replied with the same words he'd used during the Vytal Festival.

"That's what you said before he kicked Yang out of Beacon."

Ozpin said nothing more as Qrow took his leave.

When he reached the bottom of Beacon Tower, Qrow found Ruby waiting for him. They walked silently out to a tree in the snow-swept courtyard, standing beneath the empty branches as the red sun dawned on the eastern horizon.

 _Just like that day three years ago. That day when Yang killed Mercury, and Heian first cast his shadow on the fires of war._

Qrow could already see the consequences of the night's events. Atlas would go to war for the first time in almost a century. But it wouldn't a conflict of kingdoms as it had been in the Great War. It would be a war of soldiers, fought for its own sake and nothing else. And millions of lives would be lost, casualties of one woman's selfishness and one boy's unquenchable thirst for vengeance.

Pyrrha, her unborn child, the people of Mistral, the guards at Torchwick's warehouse, and Ironwoods special-ops soldiers were only the first of many more to come in the dark days ahead.

"This is the same tree Yang stood under before the explosion." Ruby said sadly, not having to explain which explosion she meant. "Before she left."

A red autumn leaf, dried and long-dead since the before start of winter, finally fell from the branches and landed at Qrow's feet.

 _Summer. Yang. Pyrrha._

 _Like leaves in the wind._

"Do… do you think we'll ever see her again?"

Qrow had been prepared to live with the pain of letting her go.

But he'd never been prepared to live with the pain of her never coming back.

* * *

Yang woke up on a bed in a hotel room she didn't recognize. She sat up and looked around at the darkened space. All their gear had been moved in, what little they actually had brought with them. Spade was sitting on the window sill, cleaning his weapon and keeping a lookout as if nothing had happened the night before.

 _Maybe it was all a dream._

But Yang knew it wasn't.

"What time is it?"

"Almost dawn." Spade replied, looking out the curtains at the beginning of a crimson sunrise. "We're in a tavern near the docks. Place my Dad used to hang out at, way way back."

"I thought you never knew your parents."

"It's… complicated."

Yang knew all about complicated relationships with absentee parents.

"Your Dad a murderous psychopath too?"

Spade snorted, more in amusement than disgust.

"Depends on who you ask. Yours?"

"My Dad's a nice guy. My Mom… well, she kinda' runs a tribe of bandits and killers."

"That's rough mate."

"Tell me about it."

They'd never opened up so much about their personal lives before, and Yang honestly felt a little weird. But Spade had always been there for her, even when the chips were down and she was about to die.

And when she was about to lose it.

"Spade, thanks for being there for me. I was so _angry_ at Torchwick for hurting my sister, that I just sorta'… zoned out. I don't know how else to describe it."

"I get it Yang. I really do understand. Better than most. And what are friends for, right?"

"I guess what I'm trying to say is…"

As she tried to find the right words, the pain started to come back. Her arm, the one she'd lost, screamed in agony as she remembered everything that had happened to her. The past few hours, the past few years, her entire life. One tragedy and loss layered on top another. It felt like burning ice in her heart, eating away at her soul with each death and sorrow until all that was left was hatred and regret.

"All my life, I've been abandoned. My mother left when I was young, and my sister and my friends turned their backs on me. All I know how to do is fight, but I can't seem to hold onto anyone."

She gasped as the pain in her missing right arm flared like fire in invisible muscles, and curled up into a ball on the bed.

"Shit! Hold still, I'm gonna' sharp you."

The physical pain started to fade away after Spade stabbed a syringe of painkiller into her right shoulder.

But the real pain never went away.

"Thanks." She said, relaxing at the end of the wave of phantom pain.

"No problem."

Spade sat on the bed next to her for a long while, watching the sun wax crimson in the early morning fog outside the window.

"Spade?"

"Yang."

"Does this place have any food?"

"Nothing that isn't a few months old at least and not deep-fried back to edibility. Room service?"

"What do you recommend?"

"Fish and chips. Only thing on the menu that's even remotely safe."

"Ketchup?"

"From forty years ago?"

"That bad huh?"

"Hey, we all have our shady drinking spots, don't we?"

They laughed softly at that for a few moments.

"Okay, grub inbound hot." Spade announced after he texted in their order. "Well, hotish. Should be up in thirty minutes if Archie gets off his fat arse. We're usually not that lucky."

Yang was feeling a lot better with painkillers in her system and the promise of food in the near future. Their mission was over. They could relax and unwind a bit until Wintergreen called them back in or the cops came busting in. Yang trusted Spade to pick a place that was off the radar, and Wintergreen probably knew they were hiding out and would wait for the air to clear.

They had time.

And in their line of work, time was something to be savored while you had it.

* * *

Heian was pacing the length of his office after watching the news. He was absolutely furious at how the clandestine operation to kill Roman Torchwick made the news on every network in and around Vale and was being broadcasted worldwide for all of Remnant to see.

"Those idiots!" Heian spat angrily. "If I wanted this to go _Yang_ I would have just sent Barley and her boys. Or called in an airstrike and been done with it!"

After hearing the accidental pun, Heian stopped pacing. Not knowing exactly why, Heian knew that was something she would say. He became fixated on Yang when he got angry, Raven as well, and it occasionally slipped into his speech. Fortunately, no one was often around for his wrathful, long-winded monologues about his long-lost sister and their much-hated mother.

 _When I get my hands on the imbecile who screwed up this operation, I am going to hang them by their-!_

It was at that moment that Wintergreen entered the office to make his report.

"I thought you sent your best soldiers to handle this, Wintergreen!"

"I did. They encountered unexpected resistance on site, but were still able to fulfill the objective and escape without being compromised."

"So Torchwick is dead?"

"Yes. And his stockpile of weapons was destroyed as well. Preliminary reports show all Atlas arms traffic through Vale has ceased."

"Very well." Heian seethed and exhaled. "We can call this mission a success. ENDEX."

"Yes sir."

While not an entirely clean end to the operation, it was at least satisfactory. Atlas would need to find another way to export their war against Heian's forces. And what's more, many of the other mercenary armies were already searching for supplies elsewhere. That granted Heian and his men a great boon. Their numbers would swell, directly or indirectly, and he would be that much closer to his ultimate goal of global conflict.

"What was the name of the operative who slotted Torchwick?"

"Spade, sir. My best marksman and recon specialist."

"I want him reassigned to me personally. There are many more pieces to eliminate before we strike at the Kings and Queens of the board. I will need a sharp scalpel to begin cutting the veins."

"Yes sir. I will send him to you when he returns. Anything else?"

"No, that is all."

Wintergreen retreated from the room, and Heian pulled up the file the Captain had just sent him of this Spade. His credentials were impressive. Most impressive. A powerful Semblance well suited to an operative of his particular skillset, and a superb mission record to boot.

And, from the brief background Wintergreen had provided, more than enough reason to hate, and kill, Atlas to its very core.

 _Hmm… So many targets, so little time. Who shall I take off the board first?_

Heian looked his personal board of high-value targets behind him, tiered vertically in levels of importance. At the bottom were rival mercenary commanders and irksome Huntsman, and the top was filled with the Vale and Vacuo Academy Headmasters, corporate CEOs, and the highest levels of Atlas command.

 _From the bottom up, or the bottom down?_

Castles were built from the ground up, but could dismantled either way. One the one hand, a fortress easily taken down brick by brick from the top could one day be rebuilt. And on the other, while much more difficult and time-consuming, undermining the very foundations left little to rebuild upon.

It would be a bloody, lengthy process, but Heian trusted Wintergreen's recommendation. The Captain had never let him down before. Heian decided to send Spade, his newest and most appropriately named tool, to cut through the rot of Remnant one piece at a time. All the way to the top.

 _Well, not all the way to the top…_

The very top of the board, Heian's highest targets, had only two pictures.

And they were his phantoms to put to rest.


	13. Cold

**RWBY: Broken Spade**

" **A side-story to RWBY: The Twin Dragons, Spade tells the tale of how he went from orphan to mercenary to assassin. Men become demons, and one man sent to Hell will go even deeper in his quest to avenge his brothers."**

* * *

 **"Cold"**

 **Two Years before the Vytal Festival Incident**

 **Four Years before the Downtown Vale Incident**

My name is Spade. If I have a surename, or some other name entirely, I never knew it. I never knew my real parents, whoever they were. I don't know if they died or left me on the side of the road. Or both.

No, there was a man who said he was my father.

He's a ghost.

I'm his shadow.

Much of who I was, who I am, is a haze shrouded in even deeper mist. My very youngest days, I can't even remember. It's hard to tell what's real from… what's not. How fucking mysterious.

Best to start from the beginning. From the most definite, solid point in my life.

I had a lonely childhood. And a dangerous one, living as an orphan in Vacuo.

Not a good place for a kid to be alone, believe me.

Wintergreen, known to his men as The Boss, asked me to write down my story. As much as it relates to our mission. Even the painful parts. _Especially_ the parts I would much rather forget.

But I can never forget. I carry the memory with me wherever I go. The pain is a part of me now.

Always has been.

Always will be.

The Boss is putting together a file. A big one. A little _insurance_ against the largest standing army in the world. He's got a whole mountain of dirt on them, being former Atlas Special Forces. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. The things they'd ordered him to do, the horrors that eventually made him leave, are easily war-crimes by any definition. If this record comes to light, and it will, then it will make the Fall of Haven look like a small misstep.

If my story brings this bloody, pointless war to an end, then it's worth remembering.

From the beginning.

You know the end.

* * *

Growing up in Vacuo makes you a survivor. Death lurks around every corner. The trick is getting around it without him grabbing you first.

I survived where a lot of other kids didn't. Vale and Atlas are relatively good places to live, nice and safe for a child to grow up in peace. But the other two kingdoms, Vacuo and Mistral, they're dangerous outside the cities. There's more orphans in the world than most people know about or care to admit. Death happens. And human beings can be as cruel as any Grimm when they set their minds to it.

I've seen just how low humanity can go.

I lived in it.

I still do.

Do I begrudge other people for living normal lives? Not really. Chance, fate, cosmic coincidence? Doesn't matter. I'm here, and they're somewhere else entirely. I'd like to say the line between those two worlds is getting real blurry these days.

But when it comes down to it, there is no line at all.

I learned how to fight from an early age. Learned how to survive. I was good enough at both that a Huntsman found me one day and offered me a choice. Stay where I was and die starving, or go to Shade Academy and find something better. I chose Shade, not because I wanted more out of life, but just so I wouldn't be hungry anymore.

Everyone's always hungry. Everybody wants something they don't, or can't, have. I was just hungry enough to take the gamble that ended up costing me everything.

I didn't realize I wanted a family. Never really thought about it.

Until I had it.

Until I lost it.

Team SHLE. Shale.

Me, Hal, Lambert, and Ennen.

Hal was a big guy, quiet and kept to himself. Lambert was the opposite, short, loudmouthed, and a cheeky bastard to boot. Ennen… well, he was just an asshole.

We were all assholes, in our own way.

Officially, I was in charge, but we had no leader. We were a pack of hungry, snarling wolves from day one. Most of the time, we'd rather fight among ourselves than the enemy and at each other's throats more often than not. The only reason we stuck together at all was to survive.

But we made it work.

It took a while, but somehow and somewhere along the way, we became brothers. We'd stick our necks out for each other. We'd kill, and die, for each other if it came down to that. No matter what.

For a kid who grew up with no one, that buys a lot of trust.

* * *

One day in our second year, a group of exchange students from Atlas came to Shade.

Team ATMN. Autumn.

Odd, right? The team named after Fall from the land of eternal Winter.

August, Terrance, Malik, and Nike. If you think we were bad, then these guys would give us a run for our money. Terrance was a pretentious, upper-class posh git on steroids. Malik was the quiet one of the bunch, and it's always the quiet ones that kill you. Nike was her own special brand of arrogant, over-privileged cunt-muffin.

And August, their leader, was a bitch.

That's probably why we got along so well.

When I say "we", "got along", and "well", I mean me and August. The rest of us, and I include August in that, hated seventy-five percent of Team ATMN's collective guts. Pretty much from the day we laid eyes on their pristine white uniforms, we wanted nothing more than to lock them in a closet and light them on fire.

With napalm.

Not August though. She loathed her team too, with a passion, probably because she was the only one with something resembling a moral compass. Still a total bitch, but a decent human being aside. Whenever the rest of the ATMN douche-squad wasn't around, August would hang out with SHLE. So pretty much all the time. Though it was probably more accurate to say she hung out with me. The boys were there because they had nothing better to do.

In hind-sight, I probably should have taken the hint when they started clearing out of the room.

Short story short. Hal politely left the room. Ennen couldn't care less. I'm pretty sure Lambert somehow recorded the whole thing to get off on later.

Do I need to spell it out for you?

A better question: Why am I telling this part of the story?

I think the biggest reason I… loved her was her Semblance. August made this sort of… dead zone around her. I don't know how it worked, because I'm not really sure how my own Semblance works.

My Semblance is weird. I don't know how to describe it other than I "see" everything around me. It's a lot easier to explain it that way. Surroundings are crystal clear. Every movement, every shape, every color and every shadow. I can read people from subtle changes in skin color and body movements, even down to blood vessels deep beneath the skin.

But I can't turn it off. Ever. It's always there. Whether I like it or not.

And where I grew up, I saw bad things no kid should ever see. All the time. Every single waking moment of every single day. It only got much worse at night.

They say ignorance is bliss.

They have no idea.

Hers negated mine. Whenever I was with August, the rest of the world literally faded away. I didn't see anything. I didn't even recognize it at first, but eventually I realized that she gave me something I had never known before.

 _Silence_.

The sex was a great bonus, I guess.

I wanted to stay with her for the rest of my life. And, for whatever reason, I think she wanted the same thing.

She even asked me if I wanted to move back to Atlas with her.

August was, first and foremost, a soldier at heart. Her teammates only attended Atlas Academy for rank and prestige in the Atlesian Military, or a big paycheck as Huntsmen, but August genuinely wanted nothing more than to be a soldier. That was her drive, her goal in life. And I seriously considered moving North with her. I wanted that… _peace_ she brought me so damn bad it hurt.

But I couldn't leave my team, my brothers, behind. No matter what I wanted or felt for her, I just couldn't leave them.

It was my loyalty, and hers, that ended up getting them killed.

* * *

One fateful day, the Headmaster of Shade Academy needed some students for a mission out in the Great Desert.

Guess who drew the shortest of the short straws.

For some reason, the Headmaster sent us along with Team ATMN. Maybe they wanted the Atlas brats gone just as much as everybody else. No one at Shade liked them, but it's safe to say we hated them the most.

August and I spent the entire trip breaking up fights, petty squabbles that almost turned into fights, and even fights we ourselves started. And Vacuo's a big place. My team even had to rent our own dune-buggy it was so bad. Team ATMN insisted they have the rental, which _we_ paid for by the way, because it was the nicer of the two. Not saying much, but still. August finally told Terrance to, and I quote, "shove it up your tightwad, money-lined ass".

I miss her.

I miss all of them.

When we finally arrived at the distant region that we were supposed to protect, Team SHLE went in one direction and Team ATMN went in the opposite. We didn't want to see each other for the rest of the mission if we could help it.

"Hey guys, did you hear what Terry said when we got to the village?" Lambert mocked as we made a patrol in the desert around the isolated oasis-town. "'My word, what is this slimy substance at our feet?'"

"What was it?" Hal asked, humoring him so he would shut up about it sooner.

"Mud. He was complaining about fucking mud getting on his stark-white dress bottoms. What a guy."

"You know, the only reason I can see for them coming with us is August's walking vibrator over here." Ennen added because, again, he was kind of an asshole.

"You think I actually wanted those fuckpads to tag along?" I asked as we climbed a sand dune.

"Sure. How else would you be in her pants every five minutes?"

I rounded on him and grabbed the breastplate of his dull-grey body armor.

"Listen mate, the last thing I want is to be within a hundred kilos of those three." I said boring into his dark-brown eyes, talking in military lingo I'd picked from August. "And don't you _dare_ insult Aug. Clear?"

Ennen, always violent when confronted, raised his right fist and ejected a small wrist-blade into the hollow of my throat. And he was the sort of guy who meant it when he drew a weapon.

"That's enough." Hal stepped in, separating us firmly with green-armored gauntlets. He was always the calm one, even when I wasn't. _Especially_ when I wasn't. "Both of you need to ice it. Now."

"Yeah, how else are we going to stay cool in this blazing-hot desert?" Lambert said off to the side.

Eventually, Ennen backed off and sheathed his wrist-blade.

"Sorry, Spade. I just _really_ hate those guys."

"I know. Let's just get through this mission without killing each other. It's only for a few more days."

The others moved on back down the dune as I gazed into the setting sun on the horizon. What Ennen said had gotten me thinking. Why did the Headmaster send Team ATMN along with us? It couldn't have been because they had mistaken mine and August's "relationship" for the teams being close. The Atlas kids had a reputation on campus. Even the faculty didn't like them.

So what the hell was going on?

The village we'd been sent to, built around a sizable oasis in the middle of the desert, had been having a sharp increase in Grimm attacks over the past few weeks. No one could pinpoint the cause, so we were sent to investigate.

In the couple of days we were there, we learned that it was a big waypoint and hub for several Dust routes through the region. Plenty of miners and transport-drivers, mostly from nearby Schnee Dust Company mines, stayed or passed through there while crisscrossing the desert. And a lot of the miners from the SDC-owned mines, especially Faunus workers, were coming into town injured.

But not from work-related accidents.

None of them talked about what was going on in the mines, but I'd seen more than my share of torture victims.

And oddly enough, not that we talked to them much if we could help it, Team ATMN didn't seem to hear about any of this.

"Everything seems to be fine." Terrance reported that night at the inn we were staying at, appearing aristocratically bored as per usual.

"Not that anyone will tell us anything in this dump of a town." Nike said distastefully, like she was trying to get the dust out of her mouth.

"Must be your winning personality." Lambert said casually.

"What was that, shorty?"

"Merely commenting on your impeccable conversation skills. Though I would offer the advice that less is more in your case."

Of the eight of us, Lambert and Nike were the most prone to starting shit.

Nike jumped up from her team's table, and Terrance and Malik stood to back her up. That, of course, led to Hal and Ennen to jump up as well. It was about to escalate into a full-blown bar fight.

"Everybody calm their shit down, right fucking now, or I'm going to get angry." August said, stepping in before anyone hurled a bottle and started a brawl. "Upstairs. _Now_."

They obediently did as their leader told them and went up to their room. On the opposite side of the inn from ours. Just out of face-stabbing range. August tossed me a pissed-off glare that was her version of an apologetic look.

I nodded and told the boys to sit back down.

It didn't make sense at the time. Team ATMN weren't Vacuo natives like we were, not to mention supreme asshats, so they had a definite otherness to them. But they were still Huntsmen-in-training if nothing else. So, why didn't anyone tell them about all the wounded workers in town? Had they even bothered to ask around at all?

No, they hadn't.

They knew _exactly_ what was going on.

That was why they were here.

One big difference between Atlas and the other kingdoms is that it is essentially a military state. The government, the economy, even the schools, everything is all tied into their armed forces. Many of the Huntsmen who graduate from Atlas end up becoming Special Operatives in the Atlesian Military. General Ironwood, the supreme commander of the entire Atlas war machine, was also the academy's headmaster.

A military junta in all but name.

Meaning that, if needed, students could be used as operatives as well.

The next day, the teams split up to do some more recon in town and try to piece together just what the fuck was going on. August and I finally got some alone time. Around noon, lunch-time and the hottest damn part of the day, we stopped at a pub with decent food and, more importantly, air conditioning.

When we finished eating, we made a bee-line for the restroom.

That's where I was when it started.

Since I was in her bubble, and otherwise occupied, I had no idea what was going on outside. The AC was cranked up to eleven, giving us a relative degree of privacy and oh-so-sweet cool air.

Probably not the dirtiest thing to ever happen in that refresher.

After we finished, we stumbled out onto the dusty street and saw her teammates gathered around the big boulder of ice-Dust that created the oasis. They looked like they'd just been in a fight, which was out of character in itself. There was no one else in the central plaza. Nobody in the shopfronts or under awnings.

Completely empty.

High noon level shit.

"There you are!" Nike said when she saw August approach and pretty much ignored me. "We took care of it."

"Took care of what?" August asked.

"You know. _The thing_."

If there was one thing Nike could do, it wasn't subtlety.

"Did you not get the message?"

August pulled her Scroll out of her pocket and read the message that had come in while we were "busy" in the restroom. It was a long one.

She froze.

"What's up?" I asked when I noticed her tense.

Silence.

"Aug, what's going on?"

Slowly, she turned to me and mouthed something.

" _I'm sorry."_

Suddenly, there was gun at the back of my head.

"Don't move." Terrance ordered behind me. I felt him take my old hunting rifle off my shoulder.

"Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal." I said grimly, wishing I'd killed the dog-fuckers when I had the chance.

"You and your asshole team weren't supposed to be here." Nike said as she drew her sword from her belt. "But they won't be an issue anymore."

She put the bronzed blade to my throat.

"And soon, neither will you. Any last words?"

"Where's my team?"

"Seriously? That's the best you got? Don't worry your ugly little head about that. You'll be joining them shortly."

I turned my gaze to August.

"Aug…"

"I'm so sorry, Spade." She replied, sincerely sad yet steadfast and resolute. "But I have my orders."

Loyalty to the end.

Just not to me.

Fortunately, someone still alive was.

"GET DOWN YOU SON OF A BITCH!" A familiar, angry voice called from my left.

Ennen, bleeding and holding onto his side with his free-hand, raised his blaster rifle and fired from the hip. A grenade sailed from the end of the barrel and right into the middle of where we were standing. I just barely got my Aura up before the grenade exploded at chest height and sent me flying back down the street. I rolled a few times then jumped back up and rushed to Ennen's side.

To put it lightly, he looked like Hell frozen over and then stuffed sideways into a microwave. His grey armor was painted red down his left side. The bloody gash in between the chest and lower torso plates looked serious. Fatal.

I grabbed Ennen and ducked into an alley before the others could regroup and counterattack.

"What the fuck is going on!" I asked as I helped him limp down the alley and out of relative danger.

"They… attacked us." Ennen panted, his voice low and unsteady. "Hal… and Bert are… dead."

I didn't have to ask what he meant. Now that I was out of range of August's dead zone and past the first surge of adrenaline, the world around me flooded back in.

People nearby were hiding indoors, afraid to step into whatever bloodbath was happening outside. Team ATMN had scattered and were searching for us, not quite sure where they'd been attacked from. How the hell they missed it is beyond then again, aside from August, they weren't all that good at doing anything more than stand around and bitch all day.

Regardless, my teammates laid dead on the ground.

Lambert had been shot in the back of the head from close range, his silver longsword broken in two beneath him.

Hal had been blown apart, pieces of bloody green armor scattered and embedded into the scorched marketplace where he'd been killed.

They'd killed my team. My friends. My brothers.

They'd tried to kill me.

"Put me down. Put me down." Ennen said and collapsed against a wall, falling to the sandy ground. "I'm bled out here."

"Come on, En, come on. Stay with me, mate." I pleaded, digging vainly in my belt pouch for a bandage. I knew it was too late. He'd lost too much blood. I could literally see his heartrate dropping fast and not stopping.

"Spade… you gotta'… do me a favor."

"What?

With his last bit of strength, he handed me his rifle.

"Make… them… pay."

His hand dropped to the ground beside him.

He was gone.

I didn't have time to do anything else than fight back. There is never time to mourn the dead in battle. Only look to the living. And the enemy. Terrance was drawing near, so I took Ennen's weapon and rushed into a nearby empty building at the end of the alley. Switching the blaster to sniper mode, I rested the rifle on the window sill and waited for my prey to come into view.

The primary job of a sniper is to wait. Waiting for your target to wander into your line of fire, sometimes days at a time, waiting for just the right moment to pull the trigger.

Most of what I do is wait.

Waiting to kill or be killed.

It felt like hours in the haze of combat-time, but Terrance rounds the corner and slowly approaches Ennen's body, wary of an unseen trap. I line up the scope sights with his shiny bald head and calmly, methodically, pull the trigger. A bolt of super-heated plasma is the last thing that goes through his mind before he drops to the dirt.

I immediately left my perch and moved on, coolly assessing my surroundings through my Semblance. Three targets, one objective. Kill them first.

Then I started on the rest.

For an entire, unknowable hour, I lost my humanity. I was nothing more than an emotionless killing-machine, hunting them down with robotic, ruthless efficiency. Nike took a double tap through the chest as she stepped out of a building onto the open street. Malik had his rocket-launcher raised in terror when I took his head off his shoulders, reflexively firing a blazing missile into the sky.

What, wanted some epic fight scene where I declared my vengeance over my defeated opponent before dealing the coup-de-grace? Sorry, but real fights, for real stakes, don't work like that.

Cold.

Despite the stifling desert heat, all I felt was the cold.

August was much harder to find. She wasn't a rank amateur like the others, for one thing. And her Semblance made her all but invisible to my own. It was as much looking for what was _not_ there than looking for what was.

But eventually, I found her. She was standing alone on a dusty street, her back turned to me. The entire area was dead silent, as if holding its breath to see who would make the final, daring move. It didn't seem like a trap, or feel like one. I think she just wanted a good old-fashioned shoot-out.

I think she wanted to make a show of going out fighting.

August whipped around, her railgun raised and charged to fire. I raised my rifle in kind.

We pulled the trigger at the exact same moment.

She missed.

I didn't.

* * *

I didn't get a chance to ask her why she did it. I didn't get a chance to say I was sorry. A chance to say "I love you" for a first, and last, time.

She died instantly with a two-centimeter hole in her chest, dead and gone before she hit the ground.

Her sightless olive-green eyes stared up at the blue sky, a single line of blood trickling down from the left corner of her mouth. With her Semblance gone, and her along with it, that silent, solitary peace I'd finally found had scattered to the wind. Though if I'm being honest, with myself at the very least, it had disappeared the moment she'd turned on me. From that instant on, we were enemies.

She had made her choice. And I had made mine.

August had chosen Atlas. I had chosen my brothers.

Boss believes that war can turn friends into enemies on a whim.

I know that better than most.

* * *

With my team dead, I didn't have any reason to stick around. My childhood instincts kicked in. Self-preservation. Survival. I had to get out of there. I had to live for the moment. Old habits die hard. I scrounged up water, food, and other supplies I would need for my journey across the desert.

There was no time to properly bury the bodies.

After closing her eyes, I left August where she fell. I took her railgun and her dog-tags. She was a warrior, a soldier, even in death. Soldiers remember each other. We may have been enemies, if only for a brief moment, but she deserves to be remembered by someone who actually cared about her.

Atlas sure as hell didn't deserve them.

I took a few frenzied minutes to gather pieces of my brothers' armor and weapons and whatever ammo I could reasonably carry. It was the pragmatic thing to do, but it would feel like I had left them behind if I hadn't.

The body is just a temporary shell. It's the armor that lasts.

Leaving the oasis behind, I took my backpack full of vital supplies and sorrowful mementos, I ventured out into the desert on foot and cannoned-up to kill just about anything. There are Grimm and bandits in the desert that prey on travelers with impunity, and I wasn't about to get eaten by a Kryat or a Sand Shark or get char-boiled by a leather-wearing nut-case with a flamethrower-guitar.

Alone again.

I never figured out exactly what had been going on there, what had been so important that Atlas had to send a group of students to cover it up. I never knew what August had been sacrificed for. What my brothers had been murdered to protect. It could have been something as stupid as protecting unethical business practices. In fact, judging from what I'd seen of the miners, that's probably what it was. The SDC does not have a savory reputation in regard to humane working conditions.

Whatever the case, they had used August. They used her loyalty to kill off witnesses to whatever crimes were happening in those mines.

They killed my family.

And for what?

* * *

Now, you may be wondering. Why did I just ramble on at length about August when it was my teammates' deaths that sent me into a cold-blooded killing spree? One, because I have to. Two, because I fully include August alongside Hal, Lambert, and Ennen. She may have been my girlfriend, but they were my home.

Either way, they were all the only family I'd ever had.

And now they're gone.

Eventually, after word of what happened finally reached Vacuo proper and I stumbled across a signal, I got a message on my Scroll from the Headmaster. It basically said that if I didn't come back to Shade and explain myself, then I would be expelled. I chose the second option.

Without the others, I had no reason to stay.

I drifted around for a while, taking less than respectable jobs for less than reputable people. Made a name for myself in the bounty hunting business. I'd gone from Huntsman-in-training to gun-for-hire in a matter of days. I did things I'm not proud of. I killed people just to survive another day.

And then The Boss found me.

He gave me a choice, the same choice that Huntsman had given me just a few years before. Fight for nothing but myself, or fight for something I believed in. Fight for those who'd do the same for me. Fight because I was needed.

Fight to avenge my brothers.

So I did what August always wanted to do.

I became a soldier.

For my brothers and sister, I'm ready go to Hell and back, and do whatever it takes to avenge them. I already have. The Boss wants to take down Ironwood and his corrupt military regime for the same reasons. That's why I follow him. That's why a lot of us follow him into the fire time and time again, ready to give our lives so that what happened to us won't happen to anyone else ever again.

His cause gives us, the broken and the lost, the outcasts of the battlefield, a place in the world. A place where soldiers can live free of governments that throw away our lives like pieces on a chessboard and don't give a damn about the innocent people they kill in the process.

What a mess we made when it all went wrong...


	14. Bloodied

" **Bloodied"**

 **Four years after the Vacuo Oasis Incident [CLASSIFIED]**

 **Three years after the Fall of Haven**

* * *

I don't need to tell you what happened that night in Vale.

You were there, after all. Right there in the middle of it. Right in the blood and the ash and the dying. You had your own battle to fight, but there's more to the story.

We both lived to see the bloodied sunrise. We made it out alive.

This is the part I didn't tell you, Yang.

Someone else, someone you knew, didn't get to see tomorrow.

Her blood is on my hands.

* * *

"Fuck!" I cursed as I ran full-tilt toward the warehouse, where Yang was about to fall right into a trap. "Fuck fuck fuckerson fuck!"

I my experience, the severity situation can be gauged based on how many time you say "fuck". It's a pretty reliable metric for just how screwed you're about to be. August and I used to compare how bad out teams' missions went based on fucks-per-minute. I always won. Team SHLE had mouths that could make a bar full of Mistral low-lifes blush in embarrassment.

This was about to become a hundred fucks per minute sort of night.

When I reached the perimeter fence, I raised Broken Shovel to my shoulder and shot two guards dead before I scrambled up and over the chain-link barrier. Flattening myself against the warehouse wall, I looked around to see what was going on as I prepared the hefty breaching charge. Screw stealth, and Barley could bite my righteously sore ass.

I couldn't see Yang that far inside the warehouse. I'm highly observant, not omniscient. But I did see, through the ever-present bastard that is my Semblance, the six Huntsmen moving in on the warehouse, drawn by the rising symphonic staccato of gunfire. They were here for Torchwick as well.

And I knew exactly who they were.

Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Blake Belladonna. Jaune Arc. Nora Valkyrie. Lie Ren.

Yang's sister, teammates, and friends.

She'd never talked about her life before she joined the Boss's band of mercs.

She didn't have to.

I knew everything about her. I knew about her past life long before I ever met Yang Xiao Long.

I had tracked six of them, three years ago. I read and memorized target dossiers on all of them. The Boss had sent me to shadow and report their movements in the months leading up to the Fall of Haven. During the battle for Mistral, I was tasked to observe and watch them as the city burned to the ground. At the time, I didn't know why I was stalking a bunch of kids across Anima, and I didn't ask.

Now I know.

That's why I was assigned to be Yang's partner after we found her half-dead on the street in Mistral.

Before we set out for Vale, the Boss gave me an order. Call it a contingency.

Keep Yang as far as possible from her past.

And now her previous life was about to get far too close for comfort. I had to pull Yang out of there. I didn't know what the need for secrecy was. I didn't know why the Boss had gone so far out of his way to keep Yang from harm, much less why he wanted to keep her from going home, which is probably what she needed most.

But I had my orders. And Yang needed help.

As Hal always said:

" _When in doubt, blow shit up."_

Words of wisdom right there.

So I set the charge, stepped way back from the blast zone, and clicked the detonator.

Bam, said the lady.

* * *

After blowing a shiny new hole in the building, I rushed in through the flames, Broken Shovel raised like a battle ax. You'd be surprised just how useful a combat e-tool can be. I brought the shovel down, separating Yang and the two-toned psycho-bitch who had been ready to lop my partner's head off just the instant before. Neo cartwheeled backwards and up onto a crate, looking at me like I was the strangest thing she'd seen all day.

Okay, now that I think about it, a guy attacking you with a shovel is pretty weird.

"How we doing?" I asked Yang behind me as we stood back to back, ready to put a round between Neo's eyes if she so much as twitched the wrong way.

A dozen guards Ruby and company weren't fighting outside surrounded us.

Me and my big mouth.

"Same as always." Yang replied and raised her fists.

"That bad huh?"

"Somebody kill them!" Roman Torchwick shouted in frustration.

Seven to one odds?

Eh, we've had worse.

Yang jumped at the guards on her side while I swiftly gunned down those on mine. They went down like bowling pins. Heavily armed, poorly trained bowling pins. Worst. Mercenaries. Ever. Of all time. And that's coming from me.

Then Neo leaped at me out of bloody nowhere, and I was able to turn just in time to prevent her from skewering me with her umbrella sword.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Torchwick fire a single shot from his cane-gun.

And then promptly run away.

What a guy.

"Go!" I told Yang as Neo swiped at me again.

We had to finish the mission, slot Torchwick, and get the fuck out of Dodge before the madness outside came and mixed with the madness inside. Yang ran up the stairs after him and disappeared into the darkness above. That would buy us a few minutes at least.

I wasn't nearly as good as Neo when it came to fighting up close and personal, but my Semblance leveled the playing field enough. She uses a lot of deceptive movements when she fights, making you think she's going to attack one way when she's setting up to stab you in the kidney from somewhere else entirely. Seeing it coming was the only thing keeping me alive. Yang and I agreed earlier that if Neo appeared, I'd be the one to deal with her.

Lucky me.

I swung my shovel low to sweep her legs out from under her, and she responded by leaping up and flipping around to cut me open long-ways. I brought the barrel up to deflect the blade and kicked Neo in the gut, knocking her away and giving me time to raise my rifle and take aim.

Then I heard the Bullhead roar to life above.

"Oh son of a-"

The dropship, which I should have fucking seen when I came in, launched a missile into the wall and rocketed out into the night sky with Yang hanging on by the tailfin. That's the last I saw of her as the flaming catwalks hanging between the high-stack cargo shelves come crashing down on top of us. Apparently, Torchwick had decided to explode his way out through a gas line. I narrowly dodged a section of falling metal and landed hard against an ammo crate marked up with poorly painted-over SDC shipping logos.

Which reminded me that I was currently inside a burning building and sitting on enough military-grade Dust munitions to level a small mountain.

Not a great combo.

I didn't know where Neo was, and at the moment, I didn't care. I hauled myself and my rifle out of there as fast as I could before a new smoking crater appeared in downtown Vale and I became a little pile of ash at the bottom of it. Somehow, I made it out and far enough away just before the whole cache sent the warehouse up in a mushroom cloud of smoke and fire.

"Well… fuck." I groaned and leaned against the wall of an alley nearby. "What else could possibly go wrong?"

The girl with a huge red scythe rounded the corner and skidded to a halt when she saw me.

"Hey!" Ruby Rose stared at me with narrowed silver eyes, wary and ready to strike. "Who are you? Why are you after Torchwick?"

"Long story." I replied, lowering my rifle slightly but keeping my finger on the trigger.

"Ruby!" A male voice shouted and came around the corner. Jaune Arc and his teammates Ren and Nora came up behind Ruby, weapons drawn.

"Look, we're on the same side here." I tried to explain. I didn't want to fight them if I didn't have to. "So if you could just not kill me for a sec-"

"On the same side?" Jaune said. "You just blew up a building!"

"I didn't blow up the building! Okay, I might have blown it up a little, but I didn't blow the gas line. And while we're on the subject, did I mention Torchwick is getting away?"

The four of them just stared at me like they didn't believe a word coming out of my mouth.

I just I have one of those trusting faces, don't I?

* * *

So, the next thing I know, I get hit with a hammer and smashed straight through a brick wall the hard way.

Now I know how that Petra Gigas felt.

"Fuck me…" I groaned as I stood and pulled a smoke grenade out of my pocket.

What? Don't you carry a smoke grenade for quick and dramatic escapes? Amateurs.

I wasn't at all ready to fight Team… RNJR? JNRR? Whatever. Point is, I was going to literally pop smoke and get the fuck out of there before Nora sent the next hammer blow through my skull. I pulled the pin and dropped the grenade, grey smoke billowing out of the metal can and providing cover for my escape.

When I came out of the building I'd been batted like a yarn-ball into, I took a quick look at my surroundings. Snow was still falling in buckets. The cops and firefighters we're on their way. Blake and Weiss were inbound hot to help their teammates. Qrow Branwen was fighting his sister Raven on a rooftop a distance away, whatever the heck that was about. What the literal fuck was _she_ doing there?

And the Bullhead that Yang hitched a ride on had crash-landed a few blocks from where I was. I had to get to her before the cops, the Huntsmen, or Raven Fucking Branwen did.

Then I saw something move in the shadows between the warehouses and back alleys.

Twelve soldiers, all equipped with state-of-the-art gear and weapons. Atlas Special Forces. They almost always operate in squads of twelve, trained and specialized in everything from deep recon to assassination. Six were headed my way, the others were headed toward the crashed dropship, likely attempting to save their puppet arms-dealer Torchwick from Yang's fist.

By any means necessary.

My blood had turned ice cold as I ran through the snow, leaving Ruby and her friends to take on the Atlas SF troopers. I'd seen them fight in Mistral. They could take them, and from what I heard of the battle behind me, they were holding their own.

Yang was alone. I knew she was a big girl and more than capable of protecting herself.

But I had thought the same thing about my brothers.

I wasn't about to let the bastards take another sister from me.

Not again.

 _Never_ again.

But this is war. I've learned that the hard way. As soon as the real battle starts, all rules of engagement go out the window. For some, no cost is too high. Nothing is sacred. Nothing is off-limits.

And no one is safe.

* * *

"Come on Yang…" I whispered as I vainly tried the radio for the third time. "Come on, pick up."

All I heard in my ear was static. All frequencies were jammed. It was a bad idea to break comm-silence anyway, but if Yang was in trouble I would rather know she was still alive and run the risk. She was unconscious, so she couldn't have responded and given away her location, but I didn't know that at the time. So I ran, and braced for the worst.

I was so focused on finding her that I didn't see the last Huntress coming until the static changed from magnetic interference.

Three words:

Pyrrha. Fucking. Nikos.

You ever taken a metal shield to the face? I don't recommend it.

I tumbled to the ground and rolled back up, rifle raised at the new threat. I squeezed the trigger twice out of reflex, only to watch the bullets spark off the spinning disc of bronze-gold as it levitated back to its owner's arm. She seized the opportunity and drew in close, spear ready to turn me into a Spade-kebab.

What is my thing with red-heads that want to kill me?

Against her Semblance, bullets were just about useless, so I switched Broken Shovel back to an e-tool. As I took a swing at a slight weak point in her guard, Pyrrha tried to use her Magic Magnet Powers of Awesome to deflect the blow. Broken Shovel, reforged from the pieces of my brothers' armor and weapons, is only made of metal in the barrel, the interior mechanism, and the blade. Just enough of the gun was polymer that her attempt to sway it was beaten out by sheer momentum. The shovel blade knocked her shield away for just a fraction of a moment as she was on the back foot, giving me a clear shot at her abdomen.

But something made me freeze. A small, subtle detail. I broke off the attack and leapt back.

"Why did you stop?" Pyrrha asked confused, shield and spear still raised. "You had a perfect shot."

"You're pregnant."

Was I at all surprised? Not really. I wasn't even fazed that she was here in the middle of what had become a warzone. What really shocked me is that it had taken this long. Jaune and Pyrrha had been… _really close_ during the trip across Anima three years ago. Every. Single. Night. It makes me want to vomit just thinking about it.

I've got no room to talk, but still.

"So… you're so honorable that you wouldn't kill a pregnant woman?" Pyrrha asked.

"I'm a nice guy. I got morals and shit." I said. "I'll kill you if I have to, but I don't want to fight you at all if I can avoid it. Seriously, I'm on your side."

"Prove it. Prove that I have a reason to trust you."

That wasn't exactly something I had on tap.

But I did have one card left in my hand to play.

"I'm here with Yang."

That did it.

* * *

Pyrrha needed surprisingly little convincing before we were running together toward the crash site. I saw the distrust in her eyes, but for whatever perfectly reasonable reservations she had about trusting some random mercenary, she wanted to find Yang more. It was common enough ground. You know, for two people who had been about to kill each other a few seconds before.

"So how exactly do you know Yang?" Pyrrha asked.

"My unit accidentally tried to blow her up, so we got her to hospital. She's been with us ever since."

I left out a few details.

"I should call Ruby…" She said to herself.

"Don't bother. Comms are being jammed. We need to focus on what's ahead."

Beyond that, I had no idea what I was going to. I'd disobeyed my orders, and if we somehow managed to find Yang, she would have been reunited with her sister and friends. For all her talk of never looking back, I knew from hard-experience that she couldn't let go of her past. It hurt.

My orders were to keep her alive first, keep her from the past second.

If that meant sending her home, even if the Boss or Yang herself disagreed, then so be it. I was prepared to live with the consequences.

But she didn't get to go home that night.

And neither did Pyrrha.

We ran into a snow covered clearing.

And everything went to straight to hell.

* * *

I didn't see the shooter until it was far too late.

She was standing on a rooftop up ahead, waiting for us. The rifle in her hands was a big-caliber hunting number, the kind used to shoot Goliaths and other big-game Grimm.

Or used by Mistral assassins to kill Huntsmen with one shot.

I knew the round wasn't meant for me. I knew it, and in that awful moment of crystal clarity, I did the only thing I could. I raised Broken Shovel to deflect the round. The shovel-blade shattered from the impact, and I almost got a face-full of my own shrapnel when Pyrrha used her Semblance to pull the metal shards away.

But the round kept on going from sheer mass and momentum.

The massive bullet tore through Pyrrha's Aura, ribcage, and spine. It was dead center mass, right where her armor didn't cover. A perfect, flawless shot. Sometimes I wish I wasn't a professional sniper and assassin. You don't notice the grim details when you don't do it for a living.

Pyrrha, and the child that hadn't even been born yet, was dead before she hit the ground.

I didn't stop to think. I _couldn't_ stop to think. I turned and raised my rifle to fire back.

But Raven Branwen was already through her dark crimson portal and long gone.

* * *

It was an ambush. We had run right into Raven's killzone. I should have seen her. I could have save them. I should have been better.

Should've, could've, would've…

If Pyrrha hadn't stopped and saved me from the shrapnel, she could have dodged or used her own Semblance to save her and her baby's life. She died trying to save a guy she didn't even know. She died putting someone else's life above her own.

That only made it worse.

It was a bloody, pointless death.

My life doesn't outweigh two.

It doesn't even equal one.

* * *

I left Pyrrha where she fell. There was nothing I could do for her now. And when Ruby and the others appeared and saw the body, they would attack me without mercy. Why should they believe me after I had fought them earlier? Why should they believe me when Pyrrha was lying dead in the bloodied snow, shot through the chest, and a proven enemy standing over her with a gun?

I did what I did when my brothers died. What I always did on the battlefield.

I went cold, left the dead, and looked to the living.

Pyrrha was dead. Yang was still alive.

I found her, beating the living soul out of Torchwick. She had torn the Atlas troopers apart, and some of them were more parts than bodies. I've seen Yang angry before, from about a kilometer away, but I've never seen her like this. She kept pounding her fists into Torchwick with reckless abandon. She couldn't even speak.

Some people turn to ice when they lose everything. Others turn into fire.

And burn.

"Yang, that's enough!" I grabbed her prosthetic arm and held on for dear life.

"Let me go!" Yang tried to pull away, but she was tiring fast. "Let me kill him! He hurt my sister! He needs to fucking die!"

I agree. Some people in this world need to die.

I'm just not sure that we aren't on the list.

"So have we, Yang! Do you know how many lives we've taken!? Do you know how many sisters, brother, fathers, and mothers we've killed? At the end of the day, we're no different from him!"

That got through. Yang stopped struggling and looked around at the carnage she'd caused. We've seen it all before. The dirt. The fire. The blood. It's not often someone gets to do it all with their bare hands. I've taken lives, up close and from kilometers away. It never gets easier, especially when you realize the people you killed were human beings.

It's even worse when you can't save a life that had every right to live. Pyrrha and her child didn't deserve to die that night, and Jaune doesn't deserve to live with the grief for the rest of his life.

I'm sorry Yang. I failed.

Again.

"Spade, we can't let him go." Yang said, and I saw her come to terms with the demon inside. "Not after what he's done. I have to finish it."

She stood and picked up one of the discarded Atlas rifles off the ground.

"Why'd you do it?" She asked Torchwick, laying bloody and broken at her feet. "What did you have to gain from starting that Grimm attack three years ago? From selling weapons for Atlas?"

"You're asking the wrong questions, Blondie." Torchwick replied through a mouthful of his own blood. "It's not about what I had to gain. It's that I couldn't afford to lose."

He coughed up blood before he asked the question we ask ourselves every time we look in the mirror.

"Do you really think… that killing me will make people forget what you are? What you've done?"

After all we've done, I don't know if Yang or I have much of our souls left. Piece by piece, you cut off parts of your humanity until there's nothing left to lose.

She pulled the trigger. I closed my eyes for a moment.

It doesn't matter how many bodies you crawl over, how many of the bastards die, or how many innocent people get consumed in the fires of war. The killing never ends, and the blood never washes away.

Ever…


	15. Broken

" **Broken"**

 **7 hours after the Downtown Vale Incident**

 **One month before the Higanbana Skirmish**

* * *

The next morning, I did what I dread doing every single day of my cheap, copied life.

I woke up.

Yang was asleep on the bed, resting as calmly and quietly as she possibly could, given the circumstances. After waking up on the window sill after five hours, I finally took the chance to assess the damage to Broken Shovel. The blade, reforged from the pieces of Lambert's sword, had been shattered along one side from the bullet that killed Pyrrha.

They say weapons reflect those who wield them.

They're not wrong.

Without anything else to do other than keep watch and hope the cops didn't kick down the door, I reverted back to the calm, mindless routine of cleaning my weapon. It's a sort of meditation I guess. It's about as close as I get to a comfort zone. The mental injection of ice was wearing off, and I was starting to feel the fatigue. And the anguish.

I might be a cold-blooded killer right down to my very genes, but I'm not a monster.

Am I?

* * *

When Yang passed out by the crashed Bullhead, I carried her to practically the only safe place in Vale for people like us. Though "safe" is an extraordinarily generous term that I use with the utmost sarcasm.

Archie's Pub.

You'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. It's the shadiest of shady bars down in the docks district. I actually almost snorted when Yang took me to Junior's club, because if that place was a pipeline for the sewage of Vale's underworld, Archie's is the very bottom of the drain and then some. Murderers, thieves, smugglers, the worst of the worst. A criminal elite and law unto themselves.

You know, my kind of people.

"Oi, which one of you two is it now!?" I heard a familiar voice shout over the din as I stepped into the drinking room with Yang over my shoulder in a fireman's carry. "You know I can't tell the difference between you all the way over there. Get in here, you poxy piece of shite!"

George "Archie" Digger. Ex-merchant marine/mercenary/pirate/generally disgusting human-being turned semi-legitimate tavern owner and proprietor. Apparently, he owed my father more than a few favors, and the long-term payment of that debt also included his son.

Lucky me.

"Hey Archie." I said, using his assumed nickname as per protocol, because I was willing to bet Lien there were people in the darkened taproom who wanted to kill bad-old Uncle George for whatever messed up shit he did in a previous life. "Need a place to crash. Drank too much."

"Go on up." Archie said and tossed me a key from behind the bar without question. "And don't break anything. Your old man still owes me cash from last time."

"Got it. Thanks."

After I took Yang and set her down on the only bed in the room, because Archie is probably the cheapest pervert in all of Vale, I turned the room up-side down looking for listening-devices or explosives. I was as sure as I could be the place was clean without tearing open fifty-year-old drywall, but I wasn't taking any chances. I ran the bathroom sink and shower at full spray before pulling out my Scroll to make a report I'd rather not have.

"Boss, this is Spade."

" _Spade, Boss. News networks are lit up across the map. What's your status?"_

"Safe. We're hiding out at Archie's right now."

" _Define safe for me, would you?"_

"You know of any other place so far down the hole the cops won't come looking for us?"

" _Fair point. What happened?"_

"Yang and I located Torchwick's hideout and weapons hub. It turned out to be a trap, multiple parties involved, but we managed to slot Torchwick and destroy his operation."

" _So I hear. Barley's already pissed. Other parties?"_

"Atlas SF. Whole squad. Huntsmen. Ruby Rose and her friends. Qrow and Raven Branwen."

" _Casualties?"_ The Boss asked, as if glancing over the mention of Raven entirely.

"Numerous wounded and killed. Twenty confirmed dead. Fourteen of Torchwick's body guards. Six Atlas troopers. Torchwick. And…"

I paused, the words choking in my throat.

"Pyrrha Nikos."

" _Spade...?"_

"I told her about Yang. We were headed toward Yang's last known when we were ambushed by Raven Branwen. Shot in dead center-mass, heavy caliber round. Textbook ambush."

" _I see. That's nineteen. Twentieth?"_

"Pyrrha was pregnant."

The Boss got real quiet, and I nearly crushed the Scroll in my hand in vengeful, all-too-familiar rage starting to boil through the cracking ice.

"Permission to track down Branwen?"

" _Negative. I have another team taking care of the matter. Drop it. Now."_

It sounded like an order. A serious one. And I would have protested had I not been asking myself what the hell just happened. He sounded like he already knew what that Raven had been there. And he hadn't seemed too particularly concerned about Pyrrha's death either. I honestly didn't expect him to be, at least verbally, but this was… weird.

Something didn't feel right, but I was close to falling asleep on my feet, so I didn't ask any questions.

"Yes sir."

" _What happened to the rest of the Atlas troopers?"_

"I don't know. Last I saw, they were engaged by Ruby and her team."

" _Likely fell back. I'm already hearing chatter on Atlas frequencies. Ironwood's en route to Vale, probably to explain to Ozpin why he let Torchwick out. Anyways, we'll do a proper debrief when you two get back to base."_

"Copy that. Anything else sir?"

" _For now, get some rest. I'll contact you if anything changes. And watch for the rats."_

"Copy that. Spade out."

I ended the call and set the Scroll down on the edge of sink. After I shut off the water, I got out of the bathroom as fast as I could.

I couldn't stand looking in the mirror.

With my last few dregs of strength, I hauled myself up and stepped out into the frigid cold air. I couldn't go to sleep just yet. I had to keep moving, keep going, until I was just too tired to stand. I walked back to our other hotel room and grabbed our stuff, leaving no trace behind me, and somehow made it back to Archie's with two dufflebags and not fall unconscious on the side of the street. It was a challenge just to put one foot in front of the other, even on the last leg up the stairs back to our room.

Sitting myself on the window sill, I laid Broken Shovel across my lap, and slowly fell into oblivion. When I closed my tired eyes, I saw the faces of the people I'd lost. Hal. Lambert. Ennen. August.

And Pyrrha.

* * *

I woke up a bit later, and saw the first rays of sunlight streaming in from the filthy windows behind me. Looking out, I saw the early dawn sky was tinged red. There's an old story that when the sun rises crimson, then blood had been spilled the night before.

And blood was most certainly shed that night.

Not wanting to think about it, I started cleaning Broken Shovel. I ran my fingers along the shattered blade, feeling the scarred and bloodied metal that had now been broken twice. I lost track of time as I routinely cleaned the rifle's bolt and barrel, my hands just going through the motions that were now hardwired muscle memory.

Sometimes, the only way to handle guilt and grief was to go through the motions.

On the bed, Yang started to stir. She sat up, looking around at the room, visibly confused and alarmed that she was in a place she didn't recognize. But when she saw me, her face calmed and relaxed slightly.

I could see the pain in her eyes, and I didn't need my Semblance to see that it was always there.

I acted as casual as I could, for her sake. How could I tell her that Pyrrha was dead, had been pregnant, that she had been killed by Yang's own mother, and that I had failed to save her and her child? I decided to keep it to myself. It was my burden to bear. My phantom pain.

And mine alone.

"What time is it?" Yang asked.

"Almost dawn. We're in a tavern near the docks. Place my Dad used to hang out at, way way back."

"I thought you never knew your parents."

"It's… complicated."

"Your Dad a murderous psychopath too?"

I snorted. She had no idea just how close to the truth that was. I've heard the stories. Soldiers have their own myths and legends, and his is one of the oldest and darkest. The Boss, someone who actually knew him, painted a slightly different picture for me. A bloody one. Those who've heard of him think he's either a ghost or a monster. Usually both.

So what does that make me?

"Depends on who you ask. Yours?"

"My Dad's a nice guy. My Mom… well, she kinda' runs a tribe of bandits and killers."

"That's rough mate."

"Tell me about it."

There was a pause, the brief family history hanging on the air. It felt heavy, like we were always stuck under that invisible weight, not really acknowledging it but always trying to get out under from the burden of our genes. A father's sins pass to his son.

Yang and I know that better than most.

"Spade, thanks for being there for me. I was so _angry_ at Torchwick for hurting my sister, that I just sorta'… zoned out. I don't know how else to describe it."

I knew exactly what she meant. I'd been in her place not that long ago, and I hadn't had anyone to help me through it. She was the lucky one. She still had someone there for her.

"I get it Yang. I really do understand. Better than most. And what are friends for, right?"

"I guess what I'm trying to say is…"

Yang grimaced in pain and reached for her right side. She was having a flare of phantom pain where her arm had been severed by the explosion in Mistral. I was already moving and digging through my pack for the medical kit.

"All my life, I've been abandoned. My mother left when I was young, and my sister and my friends turned their backs on me. All I know how to do is fight, but I can't seem to hold onto anyone."

I knew what she meant. All too well.

Except all my friends were dead.

I feel partially responsible for her condition, not only because she was my partner, but because the dropship that carried out the airstrike was one of ours. The Boss found her and we spirited her away to a hospital in Vacuo. From there she unknowingly joined the same ragtag pack of dogs-of-war that had nearly killed her in the first place, and became partners with the man who'd followed her sister for months.

The phantom pain had come and gone in the past three years, and Yang had silently endured it. There was nothing I could do to make it better, much less make it right. All I could do was give her a shot of painkiller to make it go away for a while.

"Shit! Hold still, I'm gonna' sharp you."

I sunk the syringe into her shoulder. She started to relax, the wave of physical pain ebbing under the soothing effects of good-old-fashioned, battle-tested pharmaceuticals.

But again, I saw the real pain in her eyes.

There is no fix for this kind of pain. You either learn to live with it.

Or you don't live at all.

"Thanks." Yang said after the tense moment passed.

"No problem."

I sat next to her on the bed, staring out at the bloody sunrise, and silently wished we could have been there together under better circumstances.

"Spade?"

"Yang."

"Does this place have any food?"

"Nothing that isn't a few months old at least and not deep-fried back to edibility. Room service?"

"What do you recommend?"

"Fish and chips. Only thing on the menu that's even remotely safe."

"Ketchup?"

"From forty years ago?"

"That bad huh?"

"Hey, we all have our shady drinking spots, don't we?"

We laughed together as I texted the order down to Archie. It's nearly guaranteed suicide to eat anything he cooks, if he ever gets around to it, but it would keep you alive for a bit longer if nothing else. Nothing for the soul quite like deep-fried days-old fish and stale potatoes threatening to either choke you on the way down or poison you when it reached the bottom.

"Okay, grub inbound hot. Well, hotish. Should be up in thirty minutes if Archie gets off his fat arse. We're usually not that lucky."

Sometimes you run on nothing but luck, and sometimes you've got nothing but yourself and the person next to you.

In my line of work, you usually wind up without either before the end.

* * *

The wait had certainly taken way longer than thirty minutes, and I must have fallen asleep next to Yang. We woke up half in each other's arms when heard a familiar wispy accent and insistent pounding at the door.

"Hey Spade!" Archie shouted and kept kicking the door. He actually brought food, for once. "I got your grub! What do I sound like, room service? Get your arse out from between her legs and come open the bloody fuckin' door!"

I had to hold Yang down to keep her from ripping the door off its hinges and beating him with it.

"What did he just say!?"

"Ignore him. He's… okay, yeah, he's a prick."

"I can bloody-well hear you in there! Come get your food or the flamin' cat gets it!"

I got up and opened the door, taking the plates from Archie and setting them off to the side. They were still warm, which was honestly more than I expected, and there was even a fresh bottle of ketchup on the side. The fish didn't seem to be covered with maggots, which was a vast improvement over last time.

"Thanks." I said and started to close the door before he said something to make Yang rip his arms off.

"Sure mate." Archie said with a shrug of his broad shoulders. "Anything for you and your Shelia."

"She's not my-"

"Whatever. Not my business where you stick your cock and where you don't laddie."

"EXCUSE ME!?" I heard Yang shout from behind me.

Suddenly, his weathered, suntanned, mutton-chopped face turned serious, his voice quiet and low. He handed me a paper shipping parcel.

"Your father came by and told me to give you these. He didn't say what for."

He never does.

I took the package and closed the door.

"What was that about?" Yang asked as I served our food.

"Mail." I set the package on the bedside table and sat down next to her to eat. "Fill your boots before I change my mind and contact the Remnant Food Bureau."

Archie had pulled out all the stops for us. The fish and chips were actually pretty damn good. The fries weren't moldy and the fish wasn't still alive or anything. We ate in silence, munching happily on the first hot meal we'd had in what felt like days. If there's one thing left in this world I can look forward to, it's always food.

"Ugh, I'm stuffed." Yang said and fell back on the bed with her empty plate on her stomach, not caring if she got crumbs in the covers. "I need a smoke after that."

"No, and don't lose your temper. This place is a fire hazard."

"You're no fun."

"Yeah, I know."

"Can at least get a shower?"

"At your own peril. It might be sewer sludge."

"I'll take my chances."

Yang got off the bed and went into the bathroom, leaving me to clean up the plates. When I heard the water start running, I opened the package from my father. Inside were two things. One was a clear plastic bag, the kind used by police to gather evidence from a crime scene.

The bag contained the shards of Broken Shovel's blade, and a bullet-casing from a big-bore hunting rifle.

I took the casing out and turned it over in my hand. It had no manufacturing markings, but I could tell from the scorching on the bottleneck that it used Dust mined in Anima as propellent. It was as I suspected. High-caliber, made in Mistral, designed to knock-down Grimm and Huntsmen alike and ignore most anything that got in its way.

I was holding the casing of the bullet that had killed Pyrrha.

And my first question wasn't where Raven Branwen was.

It was why I was holding the casing at all.

The first rule of being a sniper is generally to leave no trail behind after you take the shot. That's why bolt-action rifles are the preferred soldier's and assassin's weapon. Broken Shovel is a semi-automatic firearm, but that was because I had used Ennen's magazine-fed blaster as the base for the weapon. I'm always triple-careful to remove shells if I have the time. Any professional sniper worth their salt would if they were smart.

So why was this casing left at the scene?

Raven's no rank amateur. She had clearly thought out that ambush, lying in wait for us to run into the open and take the perfect shot head on. She wouldn't overlook such an important detail like leaving a casing for someone to track her with.

Which then made me ask myself another question.

Why kill Pyrrha?

The only reason I could think of for Raven to be there was for Yang. If that was the case, why not shoot me instead? Why not shoot both of us? She could have done it easily. Hell, she could have just come down with her sword, cut off our heads, and been done with it. That would have actually been the quieter option than using the loudest fucking gun she could get her hands on.

But she didn't.

Raven had deliberately left a trail, left the guy alive who was most likely to follow it, not to mention the guy who was closest to Yang at the time, and killed someone who realistically posed little to no threat to her.

Why?

* * *

It didn't take long to retrace my steps and find the spot where Pyrrha died. It had been almost eight hours, and there was a thin layer of fresh snow on the ground. Fortunately, the cops hadn't messed it up too much. Standing where Raven stood, I looked down on the white clearing between the buildings, using my Semblance to search for clues in the daylight.

I saw what I expected to see. Small sunken depressions where there had been footprints hours before and nothing but white.

Nothing but white...

There were no bloodstains on the snow. It wasn't even tinged pink. It had kept snowing for a few hours after the fact, but not enough to cover the blood completely. It hadn't gotten above freezing, and bloodstained snow doesn't just disappear into cold thin air. So either someone had come along and replaced the bloodied snow where Pyrrha fell…

Or it had never been there at all.

* * *

As I walked back to the pub, I kept going over the details in my head, again and again and again. My Semblance gets overwhelmed when it's snowing or something else obscures my vison, but I saw Pyrrha die, right in front of me with my own two eyes.

Real bullet, real blood, real body.

But…

I shook my head. I knew what I saw. I've seen death up close enough times to know what it looks like. My heart just didn't want to accept the awful conclusion that it and my mind had already come to. I failed. Pyrrha was dead. She had to be.

Right?

I was still agonizing over it when I stepped back into the room. I hadn't been gone long, maybe just over half an hour, and Yang was still in the shower. Archie was going to be pissed when he saw the water bill. I repacked the evidence bag into the paper parcel to look over later and pulled out the second object inside.

It was a cassette tape.

There was something written in the title block on Side A:

"From the man who sold the world"

Man has a dramatic streak, and I maybe the spitting image of my father, but I don't carry around a cassette player. Without a way to listen to whatever was recorded on it, I put it back in the package. I'd listen to it later, when I got the chance.

If I got the chance.

"Hey Yang." I said over the shower spray, knocking politely on the bathroom door. "Quit wasting all the hot water. Archie's a lowlife cheapskate. And that's an insult to the lowlife cheapskate community."

I heard the shower cut off, and Yang opened the door. We'd seen each other naked plenty of times in the barracks, so we were well past embarrassed glances at the ceiling. Don't get me wrong, she looks good without clothes. In a fit, badass, tear-your-head-off-without-blinking sort of way.

"Sorry, I lost track of time. I really needed that shower."

"Copy that."

I was about to turn away when Yang grabbed my hand from behind.

"Your hand's cold."

"I stepped out for a smoke."

"That was a long smoke."

"It's been a long night."

I tried not to look down at her body over my shoulder, curse my fucking Semblance, but instead stared into her eyes. I held the gaze of her lilac eyes for a long moment. I didn't see the wrathful, vengeful crimson I'd glimpsed the night before as she near about pummeled a man to death. All I saw was the tired eyes of an exhausted young woman who needed to rest. In the three years I've known her, in spite of everything we've been through and done, I'm always amazed how the fire in her eyes never quite goes out.

"Spade… when you said you weren't my…"

"I'm not. I'm your partner. And your friend."

"I know, but… what if…"

"Yang, I gotta' give you full disclosure here. The last girl I was with… it didn't end well."

That was an understatement.

"Okay, if you don't think you're ready, then it doesn't have to be permanent or anything…"

"Nothing lasts forever. Especially in our business."

"Then how about we make it last for just a few days?"

Since I killed August, I'd never thought about being with anyone else. Too painful to think about, to inconvenient to actually pursue anyway. It's hard to find someone when you live on the battlefield. But Yang… is special. We lived together, we fought together, we were family. I'd helped her though the living nightmare of the previous night and the past three years, and whether she knew it or not, she helped me get through the day that came after.

I turned and we drew closer together until our lips connected. She was still dripping wet and warm from the shower, and I was still frosted and cold from being outside. But I didn't care. We were two broken souls who needed to forget for a little while.

Fire and ice.

How bloody poetic.

* * *

Unfortunately, the brief romantic interlude didn't last very long. The Boss called and said we needed to report back to base ASAP. We had never been called back direct to HQ before, ever, so we didn't argue. No rest for the weary. After a few blissful hours to ourselves, we were packed up and out of town by nightfall. I tried to pay Archie, but as with every other time I'd hit him up over the years, he refused all payment. Said he owed Dad enough as it was.

The man has a soft spot. Somewhere deep, deep, _deep_ down.

On the way back across the continent, Yang and I tried to make the most of our "vacation". It was a good couple of days, pretending we were just a traveling couple rather than soldiers headed toward the next conflict. We traveled by train from Vale, with a brief "stop" in a certain dumpster in Fallsburg, a big rail-town in the deepest parts of the Forever Fall Forest, before we reached the eastern coast of Sanus.

We got to see a lot of the memorials from the Great War. This is where it had started, when Vale and Mistral settlers opened fire on each other and started the bloodiest conflict in Remnant's history. Officially, no one knows who fired the shot that kicked it all off.

Unofficially, if the rumors are to be believed, the man responsible was around long before that. And was still alive at least sixty years later.

It's been about eighty years since the War. I'm in my twenties. Do the math.

Little did I know that history was about to repeat itself.

* * *

As soon as we stepped foot on our unit's main base in the middle of fuck-you-it's-classified-nowhere, the Boss whisked me away and left Yang to take the ass-chewing from Sergeant Barley about proper use of explosives. I tossed her an apologetic look as the shouting started in earnest and the Boss led me into the main admin building.

"What's this about Boss?"

"You're being reassigned."

"Where to?"

"Not my decision."

That didn't make sense. The Boss was… the boss. It was his unit, we were his men, and he was our commander.

Apparently, there was more to the operation than meets the eye.

He guided us deeper and deeper into the building. It wasn't a massive facility, but the way it had been built made it appear deceptively larger on the inside. The place was built like a fortress, designed to be confusing and difficult to assault. Eventually, we had gone so deep inside the virtual bunker there were no more security cameras.

At what turned out to be the final checkpoint, we were met by Sergeant Doppler, one of the Boss's ex-Atlas SF troopers and his communications specialist. He was dressed in full kit as usual, more machine than man, his advanced optics suite pulled down over his face.

"Are we secure?" The Boss asked without prompting.

Doppler doesn't talk much. Actually, he doesn't talk at all. He silently showed us the handheld computer strapped to his forearm. On the screen was a camera feed from one of the barracks. Yang was in the shot, still being grilled by Barley, with a few others of the Boss's original team present in the room. Doppler pressed a button on the screen, and the feed went dead.

"Good. Make sure all comms are cut while we're inside. This won't take long."

Doppler nodded and let us pass through into the darkest part of the base.

I didn't ask questions or say anything as we approached the office door at the end of the darkened hall. If Doppler was keeping the entire outside world on comms-silence, then that was my que to shut the fuck up.

The Boss opened the door, and I came face to face with the reason me and Yang rarely came to home base.

* * *

I knew exactly who the man was the second I laid eyes on him. He had Yang and Raven's hair, leaning more towards his sister's blond but slightly darker, and had similar facial features to both. He looked like a male version of Yang, right down to the skin tone and overall height and build.

Except his eyes.

They looked to be a mix between Raven and Taiyang's red and blue. A deep, almost cobalt indigo. Indigo is not exactly a color I generally associate with cold-blooded killer, but Heian managed to pull it off spectacularly.

He had that same look as Raven's eyes did that night. Like he was ready to kill to get what he wanted and not give a damn who died in the process.

After the brief and bone-chilling shock of seeing Yang's twin brother, I noticed a board covered with pictures on the wall behind him. Targets. Lot's of targets. Huntsmen, mercenary leaders, Atlas officials and commanders, powerful businesspeople. A few were already covered in big black X's, but there was a long way to go before he won the game of world-destroying bingo.

And at the very top were pictures of Yang and Raven.

Now I understood why the Boss had been keeping us in the dark.

"Excellent work on killing Torchwick." Heian said to me suddenly, his cold, determined attention falling on me as if for the first time since I'd stepped foot in the room. "I am impressed, and Captain Wintergreen has given me his recommendation of your skills and abilities."

I almost said I wasn't the one who offed Torchwick, but then I remembered to keep my mouth shut.

"I have a mission for you." He gestured casually to the wall behind him. "I need you to eliminate these targets."

I wanted to tell him to go fuck himself. I _really_ wanted to, but I saw and felt the Boss's gaze on the back of my neck. If he recommended me as an assassin to Yang's sociopathic brother, then he wanted me to do it, no questions asked on my part.

I didn't have a lot of room to argue if I wanted to leave the room alive.

"This is not up for debate." Heian said, cool and low. "This is an order."

I saw it in his eyes. He was deadly serious. If I didn't follow his orders to the letter, he'd kill me without a second thought. Maybe not even a first one.

And then he'd come for Yang.

I don't know just what kind of game the Boss has been playing for the past three years, but at that moment, I knew the stakes. I could see the hate in his cold, indigo eyes. Heian's hatred of Yang ran so deep that it was practically a part of his very soul.

It wasn't a burning kind of hate. It was a shadow, the kind that haunts and eats at you until you finally give in and become a monster.

As the pieces came together, I looked for the motivation to follow Heian's orders. I had to protect Yang. The Boss had given me orders to protect her at all costs. Even give my life if need be. She was my partner, my friend, my… you get the idea.

But I needed something to forget all that. Something that could take her place until I could safely remember that I ever even knew Yang Xiao Long. I needed to become someone else, someone Heian believed worked for him.

I looked over Heian's shoulder, and found what I needed.

"Yes sir." I said confidently, prepared to do whatever was necessary.

For my brothers. For August. For Pyrrha.

Atlas sent me to hell, but I was going even deeper. No greater good. No just cause.

All for revenge.

"Good." He smiled a dark, ghostly smile. "I am aware of your past history with Atlas. You will have your revenge."

He raised and clenched his fist. Hard. Like he was trying to crush the whole world in his hand.

"We will burn Atlas to the ground. And that will be just the start."

 _That_ was something I, or my shadow, could get behind.

* * *

Personally, I thought I put on a good act. It wasn't particularly hard to do either. I do want Atlas to pay for what it did to my brothers. What it did to August. What it had done indirectly to Pyrrha and who knows how many others through Torchwick's proxy arms-trade. But as for revenge, I already had that. Team ATMN, the ones responsible for my brothers' deaths, were dead and buried.

What I really want is for what happened to me to never to happen to anyone else ever again.

But for now, I have to forget all of that. If there's one thing Heian understands completely, it's bloody, personal, and universal revenge. Taking on the whole world because it took something from you.

If giving Heian a mound of corpses will keep his attention off Yang for a while, at least until the Boss was ready to make his move, then I will give him a whole bloody mountain.

The Boss and I left the room after Heian told us to await further orders. I didn't say a word until we were far enough away from the Dragon's lair.

"You know he's insane, right?"

"I know."

"How the hell did you end up working with him?"

"I found Heian in Vacuo, several years before I found you. When I heard him talk about making a world where soldiers like us can live free from governments and kingdoms, I believed in his cause. I think he really believes in what he says. The kid's got conviction if nothing else. When I found him, he was lost and broken just like the rest of us."

The Boss paused. He had a habit of collecting broken souls.

"But that's not going to stop him from taking revenge on the entire world and taking all of us down with him."

"So why do we keep fighting for him?"

"I'm biding my time and playing the hand I was dealt."

I didn't ask for further details. The Boss is playing a dangerous game, and I'm just one grunt on a need-to-know basis. Somethings never change. I needed to stay focused on the task ahead: keeping Heian focused on the big picture instead of the small detail that would kill him.

"By the way," I said, pulling the cassette tape from my father out of my jacket pocket. "My old man sent me this. Mind if I borrow your tape-player?"

* * *

" _Do you remember who you are? What you made to do? I've left a bloody mark on history. That's why you were created. You were made in my shadow. We are not the same man, but we share the same story. This legend… this pain… is ours."_

" _But you've left your own mark on the world. Revenge is what brought us here, both of us, but you've already chosen a better path than I did. It's a long, bloody road ahead of you, but it's yours. You are more than just a copy of me. Take that with you, wherever you go."_

" _From here on, you're your own man."_

* * *

When the tape ended, I punched the mirror.

Blood trickled down from where I held my fist against the broken glass. I looked at my shattered reflection. I thought it was a trick of the light, but for a moment, I saw a face near identical to my own. A face I had seen before. Almost seven years ago.

The Huntsman who found me and sent me to Shade.

Fate has a cruel sense of irony.

I blinked, and the blue and yellow eyes disappeared from the face in the mirror.

I don't know if I've chosen a better path, I don't even know if it's a good one, but my father was right about one thing. I am more than the sum of my genes. I'm not fighting because someone made me, not fighting because of what I've lost, not fighting because it's all I have left.

Heian can believe whatever he wants, but I'm fighting for the people I haven't lost yet.

I may be a shadow, but as long as I am still breathing, as long as I have something to fight for, my fate will be my own. And I may be headed straight for Hell.

But what better place for me than this?


	16. Deceived

**Chapter 16**

 **Deceived**

Jaune was sitting on the edge of Beacon's massive landing pad when Qrow found him. He couldn't tell if the poor kid was staring at the setting sun in the distance and hoping or into the still-frozen water below and thinking. It had been almost a full day since the operation to catch Torchwick had gone straight to Hell and still found a way to keep going.

"How ya' doing kiddo?"

Looking up to face him, Jaune had the face of someone waiting for something that could never possibly come back.

Qrow knew the feeling.

"Somehow, it doesn't feel real." Jaune said quietly, returning his sad gaze to the horizon. "I don't know if it's just me not wanting to accept it, but it doesn't feel like she's actually gone."

Sitting down next to Jaune on the edge, Qrow pulled his last extra flask of booze out of his pocket. He unscrewed the cap and took a long pull before handing it off. Jaune took a swig as well, and his face would have twisted from the burn under better circumstances.

 _At least he's not vomiting over the side of the cliff._

 _Silver linings._

"It never gets easier you know." Qrow said, gazing forlornly out at the darkening horizon to the west. "But she's gone. We all saw her body. We're about to see it again in a few minutes. You have to accept that if you ever want to move forward."

Jaune held the flask in his clasped hands and said nothing.

 _Like I'm one to talk._

They sat there for what felt like a small eternity before the Bullhead approached the school from Vale. The cops had taken possession of Pyrrha's body as part of the investigation, but Ozpin had managed to pull a few strings to have her brought back to Beacon. It didn't seem right to leave her in a morgue as cold and unforgiving as the world she'd lived and died in. She deserved to be among friends and family, even in death.

"You ready?"

"No…"

"Right. Let's get this over with."

Qrow and Jaune stood and rejoined Ruby and the others across the landing pad as the police-marked dropship made its landing. They had all come to see Pyrrha home, and Qrow could feel the collective sadness and dread, his own included.

The pilot cut the engines and opened the side doors, revealing a single passenger.

Or, in a very literal sense, two.

* * *

Everyone stared wide-eyed, utterly frozen, dead silent. Qrow had seen some _very_ strange things in his life. He even knew two men who could literally cheat death. One who kept reincarnating into new people, and one who just couldn't die. But nothing quite like this. He'd never seen a person _come back to life_.

What came out of the Bullhead couldn't possibly be real.

 _She_ couldn't possibly be real.

"Oh, thank goodness you're all alright!"

Pyrrha Nikos, safe, unharmed, alive, ran up and wrapped Jaune in a tight, caring hug that certainly seemed real. Qrow couldn't do anything except watch with his mouth slightly open.

 _It can't be…_

Jaune just stood there, too dazed to even speak, unable to move a muscle. Qrow felt his fist clench of its own furious accord. Raven had distracted him, kept his attention just long enough so the police could take Pyrrha right out from under them. But then he felt the anger recede, replaced with the single, gnawing question he'd been asking himself for almost an entire day now.

 _Why?_

"I was so worried!" Pyrrha said to them all, forgetting entirely about the fact she was arrested. "The police found me right before the warehouse exploded. They kept me in the station the whole day, so I didn't know if you were…"

Pyrrha nuzzled her face further into Jaune's shoulder.

"I'm so glad you are all okay."

She didn't know what they had seen.

Or thought they saw.

Eventually, Pyrrha pulled away from the still frozen cold Jaune and realized that everyone was staring at her like they'd seen a ghost.

"What's wrong?"

Ruby was the first to speak.

"You… you died…"

"What do you mean?"

"We saw your body, Pyrrha." Blake explained quietly. "We saw you _die_."

All Pyrrha could do was blink in stunned surprise at the news she was supposed to be dead.

"Typical." An entirely too sarcastic female voice said from the shadows. "You idiots, always falling for the same old trick."

 _You've got to be kidding me…_

Qrow turned and came face to face with two of the three who had tried to kill Amber, the former Fall Maiden. The people who had been pulling the strings of Torchwick's attempted Grimm invasion three years ago.

He already had his scythe drawn, and was surprised to see all the others form a defensive barrier around Pyrrha with weapons raised. Though out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ruby, Weiss, and Blake were focused on the short, pink and brown-haired woman smiling and waving silently at them.

"Emerald! Cinder!" Ruby shouted and sighted through Crescent Rose. "Get away from her! Neo works for Torchwick!"

Emerald Sustrai slapped an open palm against her face in frustration.

"What is _she_ doing here!?" Weiss asked indignantly, pointing the tip of Myrtenaster at Neo.

"She is here," Cinder Fall said coolly. "Because she has something to say."

* * *

On one side of the circular room at the top of Beacon Tower stood Ruby and the others, and on the opposite stood Cinder, Emerald, and Neo. Ozpin was seated at his desk with Glynda at his side as always. Qrow waitd at the back to guard the elevators and prevent Cinder's attack or escape should it come to that.

 _This is going to be a long night._

"Now that everyone is here, we may proceed." Ozpin stood, his cane held casually in his hand in a less-than-veiled reminder that he was on his guard, and turned to Cinder. "I do not believe I have had the pleasure, Miss Fall, but this is of course no time for such idle pleasantries. I will get straight to the point. Why are you here?"

Cinder likewise did not waste time.

"I and my attendants have also come, under agreement with Raven Branwen and another party, to fake the murder of Pyrrha Nikos."

There was an audible intake of breath from almost everyone in the room.

"To what end?"

"First: to prevent Qrow and your students from pursuing Raven."

"And second?"

"We were not told. Our mission was to coordinate with Raven and make you believe Pyrrha Nikos was dead for at least twenty-four hours. No more, no less. What their second aim was, I do not know. You are not the only one adept at withholding information from his allies."

"May I ask for what in exchange you made this agreement?"

"Information regarding the Relic of Knowledge."

 _Wait… what?_

Qrow, Ozpin, and everyone else in the room put on a look of confusion. As far as anyone in the loop had been concerned, Salem had taken possession of the Relic during the Fall of Haven. Who else would even know it was hidden under the school? Or even knew what to do with the damn thing when they found it? To learn that Salem had not, and had been willing to go so far to discover its location, was a massive surprise.

Then it hit him.

"Heian has the Relic." Qrow said from the back.

"He does." Cinder nodded. "And I have seen visual proof of this. We have all seen what your nephew is capable of, and just how far he's willing to go to get what he wants. As long as Heian Xiao Long is waging his own personal war on all of Remnant, our feud must come to an end if there's going to be anything left of the world to fight over when the ash settles."

Qrow heard Ruby gasp under her breath, and saw the shocked faces on the kids. If there were going to be any more dramatic reveals that night, he was going to need another drink.

"Wait… what?" Ruby asked. "Who's Heian?"

 _Son. Of. A. Bitch._

"Oh, did I let the truth slip?" Cinder asked and smiled coldly.

"Uncle Qrow, what is she talking about?"

"Later Ruby." Qrow cut her off. Now was not the time to unseal the hushed casket.

"I see." Ozpin picked up without missing a beat, bringing the meeting back to the business at hand. "And who might be this unnamed party?"

Then, in answer of the Headmaster's question, the elevator door behind Qrow whirred opened. He turned to find a masked man wearing body armor and navy-blue fatigues step off the lift, his eyes obscured by a wide, blank, featureless black visor. Immediately, Qrow was more than a little unnerved. And that didn't happen easily.

"This," Cinder announced. "Would be their emissary."

"Hey pal, you're not supposed to be up here." Qrow moved to intercept, wondering how in hell he had managed to get access to the floor they were on. The Headmaster's office was supposed to be a restricted area, locked by Scroll ID, and the only people allowed up were school faculty or other authorized visitors. "Who the hell are you?"

The intruder halted mere inches away from Qrow's face. The guy was slightly slouched forward, but didn't seem to have any other distinct human characteristics other than overall shape. He didn't even seem to be _breathing_. They stared each other down, and as Qrow stared back into the black void of his visor, he wondered with a spine-shuddering chill if there were even human eyes behind it.

"Let him pass Qrow." Ozpin ordered. "Let us hear what he has to say."

Qrow stepped aside and let the faceless messenger past him. He walked toward the center of the room, his movements far too precise and… _robotic_ to possibly be human. For a brief, exact second, the mysterious man halted in front of the students. He turned his cold, hidden gaze on Weiss, then turned back and continued toward Ozpin without a word.

 _What was that about?_

"And you are…?" Ozpin asked, his features searching and inscrutable.

Suddenly, almost too fast to see, a mechanical tentacle appeared out of his back and attached itself to Ozpin's desk. Glynda sprang into action immediately, but Ozpin held her back with an outstretched arm. A holographic screen appeared before the gathered audience, with streams of data scrolling up and down in the air.

The screen flashed red, and the black silhouette of a Queen chess-piece was superimposed over the frozen flow of digital information. And out of the corner of his eye, Qrow saw Cinder go a degree paler. The messenger's head whipped around to the same location, as if he already knew she was responsible for her planting it into the system.

"Doctor Watt's work." Cinder replied, taking the reveal in stride. "Don't bother trying to break the encryption."

And before she could even finish the sentence, the virus inside of the Beacon CCT system was erased.

The man turned his attention back to Ozpin. The data stream cleared, and he was inside the system. Several lines of text appeared on the screen, being typed in with invisible, or rather digital, hands. They all read as the messenger began his silent delivery.

DESIGNATION: DOPPLER

AFFILIIATION: WALLACE WINTERGREEN

OPERTATION: OUTCOME MANIPULATION

"Wallace Wintergreen is your leader, I presume?"

The human-like entity known as Doppler nodded once in reply.

"I can only assume you know the answer to my next question. How did Heian Xiao Long acquire the Haven Relic?"

A video appeared on screen. It looked like a feed from a helmet camera, and the lower right half of the screen was dominated by a rifle. There were nine masked soldiers moving in and out of the camera's view, including whoever was wearing the recorder.

There was one other person in the shot, being moved along between three soldiers like a hostage, and they were in a place that should never have seen the light of day.

The tenth person was Vernal, the Spring Maiden who had disappeared from Haven Academy well over a decade ago, and the one who Qrow had always suspected had at some point joined with Raven.

They were in the Relic vault that had once been underneath Haven Academy.

It was a short video. They were swift and efficient. If they'd managed to capture and subdue a Maiden, then Qrow figured they had to be. They got Vernal to open the door in minutes. As the camera image went fuzzy from the release of powerful magic needed to open the vault, Qrow wondered just how effective Atlas Special Forces must have been at torture and interrogation to get one of Raven's to break.

When they removed the Relic, one of the soldiers, a stern-voiced female, put her hand to the side of her helmet.

" _It's done. We have the package."_

The voice that replied was one Qrow had never heard before in his life.

But he knew immediately who it was.

" _Very good Sergeant."_ Heian's voice replied. _"Continue as planned."_

Then abruptly, coldly, ruthlessly, efficiently, one of the soldiers put Vernal on her knees, raised his weapon, and put a bullet in her head. Then the camera feed cut off.

Weiss was the first person to speak.

"They… killed her."

Doppler turned his gaze on her.

The video came back up, paused at the exact moment Vernal was about to be executed, and zoomed in on the weapon in the soldier's hands. The image cleared, and printed on the rifle clear as a snowy day, was the Schnee Dust Company logo.

Weiss' eyes went wide, and she became reflectively silent.

"Why are you here?" Ozpin interrupted, his voice low. "What was your aim in making us believe Miss Nikos was dead?"

"Raven insisted we actively prevent you from interfering with Torchwick's 'removal'." Cinder filled in with a sly grin. "What better way to impede you than to kill the Invincible Girl?"

"How'd you pull it off?" Qrow asked, partially interested how in the hell they'd managed to pull one over on _all of them_.

Standing next to Cinder, Neo changed right before their eyes. Her whole body shattered into mirror-like fragments, and the pieces reformed into a familiar shape as she stepped forward to the other side of the room.

Pyrrha, who'd been silently listening to the night's proceedings, came face to face with a bloodied mirror duplicate of herself.

"I added a few touches with my Semblance." Emerald said smugly. Qrow blinked, and the fake, ruined Pyrrha became even sharper and more detailed. He blinked again, and the added illusion was gone. Qrow heard scattered surprised breaths from the kids as they saw the same thing they saw that terrible night on display from the magicians themselves.

Except for Ruby.

"That day…" Ruby said quietly. "In the stadium… Mercury…"

Everyone's attention turned towards Ruby, and just as Qrow came to the same conclusion, Doppler pulled up another video for them to watch. Again.

Yang stopped, turned, and shot Mercury right through the chest for the entire world to see.

Then the image changed. The camera angle changed. Out of all the video footage taken, edited, and distributed since that day, Doppler had found the right piece of it to tell what really _happened_ in that exact moment.

Once more Yang, her full face in view, turned. And in her eyes… wasn't anger. Not hate. Not rage. Not insanity. Not cold-blooded killer of any stripe or clinical classification. Just something Qrow had seen in his niece's eyes a thousand times before. What she'd been trained to do nearly from birth, and maybe even before then.

" _I saw him attack me, and I… fought back."_

Reaction.

Qrow was going to need another drink.

* * *

The rest of the meeting essentially boiled down to Ozpin and Cinder agreeing to stay out of each other's way for the time being. Qrow thought it was particularly anti-climactic, but it was probably the best deal they were going to get out of Salem. Well after Cinder and crew were escorted out by Glynda, Team JNPR went back to their dorm room in silence.

Doppler, who remained silent after delivering his message and didn't threaten to push Qrow over the edge of severe liver-damage with anymore earth-shattering revelations, exited after the meeting was concluded. Qrow and Team RWBY went down last and met him in the bottom-floor terminal room. They found Doppler hooked into the system, as if the guy wasn't creepy enough, presumably downloading untold terabytes of data to use later.

"Umm, excuse me…" Ruby asked timidly. "What exactly are you?"

Doppler's tentacle retracted into his back and he turned to face them.

An electronically distorted voice emanated from Doppler, the wave-pattern of a sound bite visualized on his faceplate.

" _You are a tool. You are a weapon. You will be the best we can make you. You will be the eyes and ears of Atlas and her armed forces."_

"Ohhhh-kay." Ruby replied as Doppler turned to the door and walked out of the tower.

Qrow and the others followed him across the main courtyard of Beacon and back toward the landing pad. No one talked. Everyone was exhausted after two-plus nights of emotional table-turning.

As they walked out toward the edge of the pad, Qrow saw two ships parked on opposite sides. One was a beat-up old dropship from when Bullheads hadn't even been designed yet. The other was a fancy Atlas airship used to transport dignitaries, diplomats, and other very important muckity-mucks.

And Atlesian Special Operatives.

Qrow was going to need that drink sooner rather than later, because he recognized the banners hanging off the airship's wingtips.

There were two groups of people clearly trying to ignore each other from opposite sides of the pad, but one person standing next to the Atlas ship started running toward them. It was a girl Qrow had seen hanging around Ironwood during the Vytal Festival.

"Penny!" Ruby shouted in excitement and ran toward her friend, but stopped short in confusion when Penny rushed past her and, to everyone's surprise, tackled Doppler with a hug.

"Hi Doppler!" Penny said excitedly, leaving everyone else to wonder what the hell was going on. "It is so good to see you again!"

Doppler looked down at the girl wrapped around his torso, put a gloved hand on her shoulder, and gently pushed her away from him.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Ruby asked, clearly as taken aback as pretty much everyone else.

"Yes. I have known Doppler since I was created." Penny replied with a smile. "In a way, he is sort of like my big brother."

No one said anything for a long, awkward moment.

"Oh, I get it!" Ruby finally broke the silence with a look of realization on her face. "He's a robot like you Penny!"

"Wait, what!?" Blake and Weiss asked at the same time.

"Oh brother…" Qrow groaned, partially because someone else was approaching he wasn't n nearly drunk enough to talk to.

"Penny, get away from him!" Winter Schnee snapped and stalked forward with her sword and dagger already drawn. Qrow saw the group of three individuals by the other ship automatically raise their weapons and take defensive formation, which caused the Atlesian Knight drones standing guard by Winter's ship to go on alert, waiting for the order to attack.

 _Son of a…_

Penny did as she was ordered and sheepishly back away from her "brother". Ruby, Weiss, and Blake did the same, because they were smart enough to know a fight was about to start. Qrow put a hand on his scythe just in case things got nasty.

"Winter?" Weiss said, unsure of what to do when her sister was acting so hostile. "What is going on?"

"Be silent Weiss." Winter growled, her eyes never leaving Doppler for an instant. "Do not give this traitor any words to twist to his master's whim."

"Traitor?"

Qrow looked over to the three human soldiers, poised and ready to kill at the drop off a hat. And after a moment, he recognized them.

They were three of the soldiers from the recording.

They were the soldiers who executed Vernal.

And that left only one conclusion Qrow could draw.

 _Doppler, them, whoever the hell Wintergreen is…_

 _They work for Heian._

"Who the hell are you?" Qrow asked, his voice low.

"I'll tell you who they are." Winter said, angrier than Qrow had ever seen her, even when she'd tried to take his head off when they first met. "They're murderers. Traitors. War-criminals. These are the ex-Atlas Special Forces members you told me about, Qrow. The ones who now work for our enemy. In the flesh."

She pointed her sword at Doppler's throat.

"Or in his case…"

Doppler's right fist clenched.

"Look, now is not the time to be fighting." Qrow stepped in, trying to break up the fight before it started. "Whoever they are, whatever they've done, they just gave Ozpin and us information about the Haven Relic. I think we need to hear their side of the story before you go on a rampage."

"You don't get it. Wallace Wintergreen does _nothing_ that doesn't serve his own interests. And they are loyal to him and _nothing_ else."

"Who the fuck is he anyway? And what does Wintergreen get out of telling us about the Relic?"

"He was a captain of Atlas Special Forces, before he turned on his own kingdom." Winter spat with venom in her voice. "I don't know what he is playing at here, but the only game Wintergreen ever plays is his own. You can't trust a word he or his walking boombox has to say."

That drew a giggle out of Ruby, but the tension in the frosty air suffocated any humor that could be found in the situation.

Qrow looked to Doppler.

"Is this true?"

Another wavelength appeared on Doppler's faceplate as he spoke in a distorted approximation of an unfamiliar voice.

" _Perception is the first casualty of war."_

"Be silent, you infernal machine!" Winter snapped and pushed Qrow out of the way. "Or I will remove your metal tongue!"

Vaguely remembering that she had said something similar to him, Qrow backed off before the sparks started flying. It was clear Winter wasn't going to back down for anything anyone said. Whatever the truth was, she had already bought the party line about Wintergreen and his men.

Now Qrow understood what Doppler meant. Perception, and by extension the truth, was the first casualty before the fighting had even begun.

Winter and Doppler squared off. The elder Schnee tensed as she readied to strike. Her robotic opponent, though visibly tensed as well, remained stone-still with his arms at his sides.

Then, faster than Qrow could drop the proverbial hat, Winter sprang forward to attack, her sword and dagger pointed forward. Doppler didn't move an inch. He calmly raised his arm to block her sword strike, which just harmlessly bounced off his armored forearm. The next three furious slashes at his head were each met with the exact same result, and when an opening appeared in her guard, Doppler reached up and grabbed Winter's neck with one hand. His literal steel grip crushed her Aura in seconds, and when she was on the very edge of unconsciousness, he slammed her forcefully into the ground. The concrete shattered and spider-webbed on impact.

Doppler put one booted foot on her back and leaned over his defeated foe.

" _I…_ " Winter groaned out begrudgingly under his heel. "… _yield_."

Doppler stepped off her and casually walked off toward his waiting dropship.

"Winter!" Weiss cried and rushed to her sister's side. "Are you alright!?"

Winter slowly got her elbows under her and lifted herself up. One of the soldiers was walking toward them, and Qrow expertly noticed that it was an extremely trim and fit female underneath heavily modified Atlas kit. When she spoke, Qrow recognized her voice as the Sergeant who'd reported to Heian in Doppler's recording.

"Nice try." She said down to the battered Winter before turning her masked attention to Qrow. "Our mutual friend told me to give you this."

She handed him a small manila envelope.

"Which one?" He asked as he took the paper parcel, trying to gauge where exactly she was going with this.

"The one with Two Eyes, hot-stuff."

Despite the flirtatious end of the sentence, Qrow felt his face blanch. For him, it wasn't just a cheeky phrase.

It usually meant that a bloodbath was about to happen somewhere nearby.

As the unnamed female soldier turned to walk back to her dropship, Qrow saw Winter struggle forward out of her crater with her sword in hand.

" _Hang on…_ " Winter panted as she tried to crawl after her perceived enemy. " _We're not done here…_ "

"I'm pretty sure I heard you yield Princess." The masked sergeant called back over her shoulder. "That means this party's over."

Winter managed to rise to her knees with Weiss's help.

"What could you possibly know of honor?"

"Enough to know you broke the rules of engagement first." She replied with a burning ember of anger in her voice. "See ya' around, Snow Bitch."

And with that, the mysterious followers of Wallace Wintergreen disappeared into their older-than-dirt dropship and flew off into the night.

"Goodbye Doppler!" Penny said cheerfully and waved in the direction they'd left.

* * *

After Winter was cared for and completed her errand here in Vale, whatever that was, Qrow didn't ask, she went on her merry brooding way back to Atlas and left them all in peace for the night. Qrow was running dangerously low on whiskey, and he was on his way to go bother Professor Port for some of his private stash when he stopped by the kid's dorm room to check on Pyrrha.

"How ya' doin' kiddo?" He asked as he opened the door. "Everything alright?"

He saw Jaune and Pyrrha sound asleep in each other's arms, while Nora was half-hanging off her bed and snoring like a machine gun. Ren was sitting up against the wall reading, and without even looking at Qrow, put a finger to his mouth. Qrow mouthed okay and quietly closed the door.

Sighing in relief, Qrow walked across the hall and into Team RWBY's room.

"Hey girls," He said and closed the door behind him. "I know it's been a long night, but I need to talk to you."

Ruby interrupted him before he could even get the next sentence out.

"Who is Heian?"

Qrow sighed.

"Heian is Yang's twin brother." Qrow explained to Ruby. "And he's been behind everything that's been happening in the past three years. The explosion at the Vytal Festival, the Fall of Haven, last night, all of it."

"But… why?" Ruby looked to him for answers to a very hard question. "Why would he do all of this?"

"Honestly, I don't know how exactly he ended up this way. All I know for sure is that Raven dumped him right after he and Yang were born, and he hates them both for it. A lot."

When Ruby looked away and grew quiet, Blake was next to talk.

"He's like Adam." She said, wincing at the memory of her days in the White Fang. "He just wants to burn the world out of spite."

But as soon as she said it, Blake shook her head, as if she was dismissing the thought.

"No, that's not quite right. I… I don't know what it is."

"Whatever he is," Weiss chimed in. "I think we can all agree that Yang's mom is a bitch."

All of them turned to her in horrified shock.

"What?" She said indignantly. "We're were all thinking it."

"Tell me about it." Qrow agreed and pulled the envelope out of his shirt pocket. "By the way, Ruby, did the guy you fought last night have a sword?"

"Nope. He just had this weird gun… shovel… thing. It was actually pretty cool, but it wasn't a sword."

"Were his eyes two different colors?"

"I don't think so. It was dark, but I think they were both blue or grey. Why?"

Qrow opened the little envelope and pulled out a worn, folded photograph. It was similar to the photos he and Tai had, but it was a group-picture of a different team from back in the day at Beacon. Team CMSO. Team Crimson. Connor, Mairwen, O'Bryan. The third member wasn't present. He never showed up for anything.

The three faces were crossed out with black marker.

Qrow flipped the photo over, and there was a single line written on the back.

 _"Not gone. Just far away."_

"No reason." Qrow replied and put the photo back in his pocket.

No one said anything for a while. The three girls were quiet, and the silence felt heavy. Weiss and Blake sat together on the right bunk, and Ruby sat alone on the left. Without Yang, the room felt incomplete, and had for the last three years. Like a piece of your life that was always missing, and, no matter how much you wished it would, was never coming back.

Not on its own.

 _I should have believed Yang. I should never have let her go._

 _Damn it._

"So, what are we going to do about Yang?" Ruby asked, as if reading his mind. "We know Yang wasn't lying, so she can come back, right? We find her and bring her home?"

They'd gotten Pyrrha back, and now that Qrow knew the truth, he was determined to bring Yang back too.

"No. _I'm_ going to find Yang. I'm not risking anyone else after we almost lost Pyrrha like that. You all stay here. I'll bring Yang home."

"How are you going to find her?" Ruby asked, half-sad and half-hopeful. "She could be anywhere in the world."

Qrow knew of only one person in all of Remnant who could find Yang no matter where she was.

And while he was there, he might also find some answers.


	17. Misled

**Chapter 17:**

 **Misled**

In the morning, or whatever time around noon his hungover brain decided was morning, Qrow prepared to leave for Mistral. He stopped by Ozpin to discuss the encounter at the landing pad and deliver the "message" about Team CMSO from their old friend. Oz had known him for much longer than Qrow did, even before he'd shown up out of nowhere at Beacon all those years ago.

 _Much_ longer.

"Hmmm…" Ozpin studied the photo thoughtfully. "It would seem there is more to this business than we first assumed. And you say Wintergreen and his men are in league with Heian?"

"Looks like it." Qrow sipped from his mug of alcoholic coffee. "What I can't figure out is why they came to us after the fact. They could have just dropped off Pyrrha and disappeared without a trace. And where does _he_ fit into all this?"

"I think it is safe to say their plan to eliminate Torchwick was extraordinarily well thought out." Ozpin agreed. "But I suspect there is much of their scheme that yet remains unseen to us. Perhaps Cinder coming to us was meant to put off our guard, and perhaps the same can be said of Doppler and those he represents. And perhaps not. I imagine more may be revealed if the other two parties were questioned."

"You think you can find him after all this time?"

"I doubt our chances of locating him, much less summoning him for inquiries. No, our only chance in unraveling this mystery is to find Raven. You are traveling to Mistral?"

"I'm going to find Raven so I can bring Yang home." Qrow said as he finished his coffee. "But I can try to get some answers out of her in the bargain. It won't be easy getting her to cooperate either way."

"In any case," Ozpin stood and offered Qrow his hand. "I wish you the best of luck."

Qrow chuckled, shook Oz's hand, and turned to walk toward the elevator.

"You think he killed them?"

He stopped, looking back over his shoulder. Ozpin was holding the picture of CMSO and studying it again, his ancient mind deep in thought.

"It's possible." Oz admitted after a long moment. "Though you and I both know nothing can ever be said for certain."

Qrow nodded and walked away. Ozpin was right. Raven was their only real lead to finding Yang and figuring out what the mysterious Wallace Wintergreen was really up to. And there was only one place where Qrow's twin sister could possibly be.

There was just one problem.

The entire continent of Anima was now a warzone.

* * *

"What do you mean you're being reassigned?"

Spade walked into the barracks after Barley had put Yang through the verbal wringer for the better part of thirty minutes. He set his duffle bag down on the bunk beside Yang's, sat down across from her, and started field-stripping Broken Shovel. Yang knew him well enough to see something was wrong, but she just watched him quietly for a few moments, not wanting to break the routine that for him was a little shred of solace.

And she didn't ask why his right hand was bloody.

"Boss needs something taken care of." Spade casually replied after the long pause. "Aren't you deploying to Mistral?"

"Well _we_ were going to be." Yang said with an uneasy smile. "But it looks like I'll be dancing alone for a while. How long you gonna' be gone anyway?"

Spade didn't respond for a long time, and the only noise in the barracks was the soft scraping of a cleaning brush on metal.

"I don't know." He finally said. "It's going to be a long, bloody job. But someone has to do it. May as well be me."

He looked up at her with a small, sad smile.

"Don't worry. You'll see me again."

As Spade's attention turned back to his weapon, Yang laid back and stared up at the bunk above her. She couldn't remember a time in the last three years when they hadn't been living and fighting together. Friends and comrades had always come and gone in the mercenary business, but Spade had been one of the few rock-solid constants in Yang's life as a soldier.

But orders were orders, and she just had to have faith Spade would come back.

 _So why does it feel like you're lying?_

Yang understood need-to-know, but this didn't feel like the familiar military routine of compartmentalizing information.

 _Why does it feel like you're saying goodbye?_

She'd seen far too many people she cared about crumble away like sand through her fingers.

Maybe she didn't have a whole lot of faith left in her.

"Hey Spade?"

Yang raised her head up and looked at him over her chest.

"Just promise me you'll come back, alright?"

Spade didn't answer.

* * *

It had taken weeks. Months. Years, since the last time he'd found her, what felt like several lifetimes ago.

Heian had a lead on Raven's whereabouts.

And she was conveniently well within his army's reach.

Since the Fall of Haven, Mistral became an even more violent and lawless than it already was. Refugees from the destroyed city had scattered across Anima in the years after the battle, flocking to cities like Wind Path and Kuchinashi, settling in remote frontier towns, or hiding in what few safe places were left. And as a result of Mistral's ancient obsession with over-centralization and an acute absence of capable Huntsmen, the Grimm and bandits were running wild, killing and burning indiscriminately as they go.

Leaving the mercenary armies of Remnant to come in and pick up the slack.

Hundreds of new private military forces and security firms had poured into Anima looking to make a name for themselves. And thanks to some financial openings created by the recent halt of Atlas's shadow arms trade, Heian had direct influence on at least half of them. It was the beginnings of a force that could one day match Atlas, but for the time being, Heian was content to sit back and fan the flames while he pursued other, more personal business.

Heian's expanded intelligence apparatus had turned up much information of interest, especially on the actions and movements of the Branwen tribe.

And that intel had led Heian to a fuel station in the middle of nowhere called Just Rite.

"Just a water." Heian threw a Lien card on the counter.

"Coming right up." The bartender glanced nervously out the front door to the armored personnel carrier Heian had parked out front of the convivence store in the fueling area. After the bartender set the bottle on the counter top, Heian casually popped the cap with a knife and downed the liquid quickly.

"So," Heian leaned on the counter with his knife brandished more-or-less in a nonthreatening manner. "Get a lot of business around here?"

"Look, I don't want no trouble…" The bartender said, frightened of whatever heavily-armed wandering mercenaries could do to him and his store.

"Not looking to give you any." Heian replied and diplomatic took the knife out of sight. "I'm looking for someone."

"Well, there's not really anyone around here except for…"

"Raven Branwen."

The bartender's eyes went wide with absolute terror.

But before Heian could continue his line of questioning, the front door to the shop opened.

"Why the hell you lookin' for Raven?"

Heian turned his head to see a scruffy looking man standing in the front of the store with a revolver in hand.

Doppler's intel was right. This was one of Shay D. Mann's regular hangouts. It was only a matter of time before he showed up for a drink, and Heian had the good fortune to catch him in the act.

From what Heian remembered of Shay, he was vastly unimpressed.

It took a long moment, but Shay eventually recognized him as well. And before he could even think of raising his gun, Heian expertly tossed the knife into Shay's left shoulder, making the Branwen bandit drop his revolver and cry out in pain. Heian rushed from the bar, grabbed the knife handle protruding from Shay's bleeding shoulder, and twisted the blade to make the man submit.

"Oh gods!" The bartender cried and reached for the shotgun he had under the bar.

Seeing this in the corner of his eye, Heian swiftly drew a handgun from his trench coat and put two rounds in the man's chest. The bartender dropped dead to the floor before he could even load a shell in the chamber.

 _Unfortunate._

Heian forced Shay out the door backwards and pushed him hard against the hull of the APC.

"Alright kid! Alright!" Shay screamed in pain. "I know what you want. Our camp's close by. I can take you straight to it. I swear I'm not lying. I swear!"

"Of course you're not." Heian said coldly, replacing his pistol inside his coat. "But I am rather uninclined to believe a single word you say."

Heian banged his free hand on the APC, and a few moments later, two of his soldiers came around from the back hatch of the vehicle and stood awaiting instructions.

"Torch the store."

The soldiers set about their task, and Heian turned his attention back to Shay. He pulled the man's red scarf up over his eyes.

"We're going for a ride."

* * *

After leaving the burning remains of the fuel-station behind, the APC continued along the dirt forest road for some time before Heian had them pull off onto a grassy clearing. Outside the small portholes, Heian could see the moonlit treeline in the distance as he habitually searched for movement on the perimeter.

"Stop here." He said to the driver, who brought the massive vehicle to a halt. Shay lurched forward and grunted in pain. Heian had his men remove the knife and patch up the wound, but only for the entirely practical reason of needing Shay conscious.

"We're here." Heian said and pulled the makeshift blindfold down off his prisoner's face. "Start talking."

"Why should I tell you shit, you little psycho?" Shay spat onto the floor of the passenger compartment. "You're just going to kill me anyway."

"Correct. But if you give me the location of your home camp, I'll give you a running start. You may even be able to escape."

Heian knew he'd hit the mark. Shay and the rest of the Branwen tribe, Raven herself most of all, were motivated by survival above anything and everything else. Giving Shay even the ghost of a chance to somehow get away alive was a better motivator than treating his wound or physically threatening him.

"Okay, I'll talk." Shay said after giving the prospect a moment of wary thought. "Let me see where we are, and I'll tell you where the camp is."

"Drop the hatch." Heian ordered up to the front. The back ramp of the APC mechanically lowered, revealing the dimly illuminated forest beyond. Shay tensed slightly as he briefly considered making a run for it, but knew Heian would kill him before he could even get out the door and predictably chose to take a gamble on talking first.

"Alright, we're…" Shay studied the square of terrain he could see from in side the APC. "The camp's about eight miles or so northwest of where we are. It's somewhere in that direction, I'm sure of it."

He looked back to Heian with that sly, toothy grin of his. Clearly, Shay thought highly of his chances of escape.

Heian didn't.

"There, I told you where they are. Now let me go like you said you would."

"You have five seconds." Heian said and beckoned to the door. "Start running."

Shay didn't even hesitate. He was out of the hatch in a heartbeat. Heian watched him run like hell was at his heels, holding his wounded shoulder as he made a beeline for the treeline.

As promised, Heian gave him precisely five seconds.

Then Shay dropped like a stone onto the moonlit grass, dead before he hit the ground.

Heian exited the armored vehicle and walked over to the body. Nudging the head to face him with his foot, Heian saw that Shay had been shot in the mouth slightly from the left. The bullet had left a perfect opening in his upper teeth before cleanly severing his brain-stem and exiting out the back of his neck.

He didn't know which one of his men had pulled the trigger, and didn't particularly care in any case.

Dark figures stalked forth out of the woods and into the faint moonlight. The ghostly figures of ex-Atlas special forces soldiers moved like shadows across the clearing, methodically fanning out to secure the perimeter. Wintergreen had lent Heian some of his personal squad for the initial reconnaissance of what they had already pinpointed to be the area around the Branwen camp. One broke off from the group, and Heian immediately recognized the blank black visor of Sergeant Doppler.

"Search him." Heian ordered.

Doppler silently extended two of his mechanical tentacles to the and began his robotically thorough search of the corpse. One of the clawed tubular appendages produced a Scroll. After a few short moments, Doppler had downloaded and analyzed its contents, although Heian was only interested in the GPS data of where it had been.

"Was he telling the truth?" Heian asked, knowing full well that Doppler had heard the entire conversation. The android spymaster had eyes and ears _everywhere_. Wintergreen's subordinate possessed highly valuable skills and abilities, but Heian had always remained wary of them, in the event they may one day be used against him.

Doppler's visor flashed, revealing a digital grid map of the surrounding area. And indeed, eight miles to the northwest of where they were standing, was where the Scroll had remained idle for a good amount of time.

 _No, this is far too easy. Raven wouldn't possibly let something like this slip out. Anyone could track the Scroll signal if they were looking. And she'd have cut off Shay's head before ever allowing him to even accidentally compromise her location like this._

 _Unless she willingly allowed Shay to reveal their position._

"I want a visual."

Doppler nodded once and went to the APC. As he extended his other tentacle inside the APC, likely startling the two soldiers inside, Heian reflected how Doppler only tended to act noticeably more human toward his closest comrades in Wintergreen's original squad. That did not, however, seem to include Heian.

In retrospect, there was no possible way Raven did not foresee his attempts to find her. She had plenty of experience hiding from her enemies, and she was far too careful for an imbecile like Shay to give them up, intentionally or otherwise. Heian already knew that she'd moved their hideout after they'd captured Vernal three years prior. And with the general uproar happening all across Anima, Raven would know that he would pick up her trail sooner or later.

 _She wouldn't dare put her precious tribe in danger, even if she was confident that any sort of trap would succeed. The camp's probably long gone by now, but we will find them, eventually. They have nowhere left to run._

Doppler returned, his faceplate streaming a live feed from one of numerous drones Heian's forces had scouring the Anima wilderness. And in the middle of another sizable opening in the forest canopy, exactly where Shay said it would be…

Was nothing.

 _Damn._

Heian knew there were just some things that were too good to be true, so he forced his rising anger to heel. Based on the night's experience, Heian guessed that Shay had not become any more competent or clever in the last eight years. Perhaps he was just a colossal moron and was saying whatever could possibly get him out alive.

And perhaps not.

 _So just what game are you playing at, Mother?_

Another drone feed appeared on Doppler's visor, from a different drone in a completely different region of the continent. It was the large, well-defended town of Higanbana, a haven for refugees in the mountains of central Anima. On the street in front of the bar, of course, was someone Heian rarely even gave thought to until just that coincidental, almost miraculous moment.

Until he presented an opportunity.

"Track him."


	18. Betrayed

**Chapter 18:**

 **Betrayed**

Qrow had been searching for almost two weeks straight, searched every possible spot, and had found no sign of Raven or the Branwen tribe. He knew the protocol. Remote, easily defensible, ready access to water. But so far, nothing. Anima was a big place, with plenty of places to hide, and Qrow knew he was going to be at it for a good long while.

 _At this rate, I'm more likely to find Yang on my own before I find Raven._

 _Yeah, fat chance of that._

All the time he had scoured the remote wilderness, traveling countless miles literally as the crow flies, Qrow feared what exactly he might find at the end of his quest. He had no way of knowing where Yang could possibly be. Or even if was even still alive. His search for answers about Wintergreen, and about the shadow from the past, took second place in his thoughts, his mind always coming back to a dark dread.

 _I need a drink._

As the sun began to set in the west, Qrow had turned his tired wings back toward the closest town for the night. The dim lights of Higanbana approached on the horizon, and before he finally reached the border between the town and the wilderness, Qrow transformed and made his landing inside the nearby forest. He didn't want to draw unwanted attention with his Ozpin-issued magic trick. Qrow had stopped by Higanbana for a night a few days earlier when he had begun his search in the mountains.

But this time, the way into town was being watched by possibly unfriendly eyes.

"Hey." Qrow said to the armed guard by the gate. "I'm in for the night. Need a drink and a place to rest my wings."

"ID please." The mercenary reached out with a gloved hand and took Qrow's Scroll. He inserted it into a reading device on his forearm, his young and earnest face illuminated by the screen strapped to his wrist.

"Just a minute sir." The soldier paused, listening to something on his headset. His eyes were glued to the screen, his right hand reflexively on the rifle slung across his armored chest. Qrow tensed. If this was one of Heian's men, and he had Qrow on some sort of watch-list, then that night was going to take a sharp turn for the worse.

 _Just my luck..._

"Sorry about that." The guard said after a moment and handed Qrow's Scroll back. "Orders are to double check every Huntsman that comes through here. Mistral council directive and all that jazz. Have a good evening sir."

"Thanks."

Qrow relaxed and started to walk past the guard into Higanbana proper, but something mad him stop and look back over his shoulder.

"Hey, where you from kid?"

"Mistral. Grew up out here in the country." The young man said with a hint of pride. "Why?"

"What made you get into all this? Being a soldier, I mean."

The young soldier considered it for a moment.

"Well… I guess it was Haven, one way or another. I always wanted to be a Huntsman and protect people, but my family couldn't afford to send me to Sanctum in the city. But when Haven fell, I couldn't just sit by and watch anymore. Mistral didn't have an army or anything, so I enlisted with this unit, and I've been here ever since. No offense, but the Huntsmen can't do it all. So that's where regular guys like me step up."

The kid was right. They couldn't do it alone. For all their strength and abilities, Huntsmen and Huntresses couldn't protect everyone in the entire world. They were far from infallible, much less invincible.

Qrow knew that better than anyone.

He walked into Higanbana without another word. Security across the kingdom had increased exponentially across the kingdom since Haven fell, and from what Qrow had seen so far, it was all privatized. As he walked through the town, he caught glimpses of even more new soldiers making the rounds. Young men, women, even Faunus. All of them trained to fight. All of them for sale, one way or another.

And Qrow saw it literally written on their armor. A lot of them, just like the kid by the gate, were from Mistral. They'd become soldiers to protect their homeland.

 _Much better reason than why I signed the dotted line…_

 _Who am I kidding? I did the same damn thing._

Qrow thought it was weird seeing the other, much more friendlier side of Heian's growing war-machine, but he knew exactly what these soldiers would be used for when the time came.

In a twisted sort of way, Qrow understood what made Heian so angry with the world. He saw the hypocrisy of using good, honest soldiers for damn-near evil purposes that were never their own and then kicking them to the curb when they'd been used up.

 _Just meeting one betrayal with another._

As Qrow stepped into the tavern, the same tavern he'd met Raven at three years prior, he was bombarded with the raucous sound of bargoers. He'd been out in the wild for days, hearing almost nothing of civilization, and was disoriented from the sudden volume increase and fatigue. When it passed, Qrow walked past the tables and went up to the bar.

"Whiskey please." He said to the bartender. "Whatever you got."

"Top shelf." An unfamiliar voice said from Qrow's right, followed by the click of a Lien card landing on the wood countertop. "On me."

"Coming right up, Mister Wintergreen." The bartender replied sharply and quickly went to pour the drink with gusto.

Qrow slowly turned his head to look over his left shoulder just as an older man with greying dark hair and an eye-patch sat at the bar next to him.

"'Mistral council directive to check every Huntsman that comes through', huh?" Qrow said sarcastically as he took his drink.

Wallace Wintergreen eyeless sideways gaze was ice cold.

"Let's take this upstairs."

* * *

After Qrow and Wintergreen were seated on the abandoned balcony, at the same table he and Raven had sat at, the same waitress from three years ago stepped away from their table.

"Anything else, Mister Wintergreen?" The waitress asked, nervously glancing back and forth between Qrow and Wintergreen.

"That will be all. Thank you."

As the waitress hurried away and down the stairs, Qrow took his drink and downed it in one go.

"Okay, I'm not doing this shit again. Just tell me what this about."

"You're looking for Raven." Wintergreen said. It wasn't a question. "I know where she is."

"If you knew where she was, then she'd already be dead."

Wintergreen stared back at him with a single green eye.

"Raven contacted me through our 'mutual acquaintance'. In exchange for her assistance, I promised not to disclose her location."

"Why? What do you get out of this?"

"Heian's the one who wants to watch the world tear itself apart." Wintergreen said bluntly. "I'm a bit more realistic. My enemy is Atlas."

"Then you've got an interesting sense of reality." Qrow fidgeted with his empty glass. "Jimmy's not happy with you pointing a gun to the head of the entire world."

"It was designed as a deterrent. The threat of wiping cities of the face of the earth gets results. Makes the enemy come to the negotiating table."

"What happens when they start up development again?"

"They already have. The Atlas war machine never stops moving."

"Then we're screwed."

"Deterrence. Keeps both sides too scared to push the button."

"Except your side's not."

"Heian's not the only one with an agenda." Wintergreen replied. "Or a score to settle."

He had a point.

"So… what did Atlas do to you?" Qrow asked.

Wintergreen's voice turned to hard, sharp gravel.

"They used us like weapons. Then they left us to burn."

Qrow remembered the men patrolling outside, and from the look in Wintergreen's one good eye, that mad the man angry. Angry enough to start a war. Angry enough to walk on the edge of the knife to win it.

"Okay, why do you want to give me Raven's location?"

"I'm hoping you and Raven will find a way to stop Heian on your own and save me the trouble. But what you want to discuss with Raven is none of my business so long as you stay out of the way. And I wish to make some sort of atonement for Pyrrha and her child."

That struck Qrow off guard. He had no reason to believe the man sitting before him, but in Wintergreen, he'd found something of a kindred spirit. What he saw in the old soldier was something Qrow understood all too well.

Regret.

"Whose idea was it to fake Pyrrha's death?"

"Raven's. She was ready to kill whoever it took to keep you out of the way. But thanks to Cinder, we found another option that didn't involve killing anyone we didn't need to. As you can probably imagine, she was keen on learning what I had on the Haven Relic. It worked out, and here we are."

"Do you know where it is? Do you know what it can do in the wrong hands?"

"I do." Wintergreen replied with a smirk. "But I'm keeping a few aces up my sleeve."

 _You were right Winter. This is a guy who plays to no one's tune but his own._

 _Speaking of which…_

"What about Sven?" Qrow finally asked one of the big questions that had been haunting his mind since he'd left Vale almost a month ago. "I thought he was finally free from all this shadowy world-ending BS."

Wintergreen's one-eyed gaze turned sad. Genuine, heart-crushing sorrow that would make most people drown in a dark, inescapable pit of unending misery and pain. It was a cold, lonely sort of hell.

Some people just had the misfortune to _live_ in it.

"I'm just trying to shoulder some of the burden for him." Wintergreen said blankly, his gaze distant. "Trying to erase some of the shadows he left behind."

Qrow nodded. He knew all too well what Wintergreen was talking about.

It had nearly killed him and everyone he knew.

It had nearly killed everyone on Remnant.

Several long moments passed in silence, the air heavy with dark memories of the past. In retrospect, Qrow hadn't known Sven very long or even very well before he disappeared back into the shadows. Raven and Team CMSO had been much closer to him, or at least as close as anyone could ever be. But Wintergreen was a career black-ops soldier going on two-plus decades if Qrow was to guess. He had probably seen Sven at his worst, doing what he did best. He'd probably been right there with him, drowning in the blood and the dirt and the dying. Time and time and time again.

If Sven and Raven were willing to trust Wintergreen, then that was enough for Qrow.

And he had to find Yang. No matter what.

"Alright then." Qrow leaned forward across the table. "Tell me where Raven is."

* * *

"Welcome to Higanbana, boys and girls." The tanker called up from the front of the vehicle. "Everybody the fuck out!"

The back ramp of the APC dropped, and Yang dutifully filed out along with the rest of the troops. It was early in the morning, and the sky was overcast and grey. They'd been driving non-stop from the eastern coast of Anima, having just came over by sea from Vacuo, all the way to the mountains south of Lake Matsu. Being stuck inside a metal box with a dozen other tired soldiers for several days had not done Yang any favors.

She stepped off the ramp and stretched, glad to have room to move more than a few inches again. Soldiers from other vehicles in the convoy brushed past her as their sergeants gave out orders, but Yang was allowed more than a fair amount of independence, so she didn't have to do anything other than stand around and yawn.

"Hey, Blondie!" A eerily familiar voice shouted over the commotion. "You Xiao Long?"

Yang whipped her head around. She knew that voice. But when she expected to see Spade pushing his way through the crowd, she only saw another soldier wearing a helmet and goggles moving toward her. She was more than a little disappointed. Yang hadn't heard anything from Spade in almost a month.

"Yeah? Who's asking?"

"The _Boss_ is asking." The soldier replied. For some reason, Yang could almost swear he sounded like Spade. Maybe a little older, a little deeper, but frighteningly close. "He wants you to meet him up at HQ. Now."

"Yes _sir_." Yang replied with a sarcastic salute. She was way too tired for this guy's bullshit, similar voice or not.

"Don't _sir_ me." The soldier said as he turned to walk back through the crowd. "I work for a living."

Yang watched him as he walked away. He sounded way too much like Spade, but just when she was about to push her way after him, she lost sight of his helmet in the writhing mass of soldiers unloading from the convoy.

 _Who the fuck was that guy?_

She shook her head.

 _No, Spade would call if he was coming back. I'm just seeing and hearing things._

 _Wouldn't be the first time._

Yang hoisted her duffle bag over her shoulder and walked past the others over to the HQ building they'd set up in town. As she walked along the quiet streets, she wondered why exactly Wintergreen had posted troops in Higanbana when the fighting was much more intense in other places on the continent. Central Anima's mountains were peaceful. That's why refugees stopped and settled there, rebuilding the shells of abandoned settlements like Oniyuri and Kuroyuri.

But orders were orders.

She stepped into the HQ building, an old rundown hotel across the street from the bar, and showed her ID to the guards in the lobby. They directed her up to the room where Wintergreen had made his office, and when she opened the door, she saw him standing by the window and smoking a cigar.

Yang had only seen it only on a few occasions before. There was only one time he smoked one of his vintage cigars.

When he had lost one of his men.

"Come in Yang." Wintergreen said and exhaled a cloud of grey smoke. "You alright?"

"Fine sir." Yang replied and closed the door behind her. "What did you want to see me about?"

He didn't meet her gaze.

"Spade's MIA."

The words hit Yang in the gut.

"What…?"

"We lost contact with him twenty-four hours ago." Wintergreen continued, still staring out the window with his back half-turned to her. "Doppler's been trying every frequency. Nothing so far."

All Yang heard was her duffle bag hitting the floor.

"Yang…" Wintergreen said, still unable to look her in the eye. "I'm sorry."

"No…" Yang felt the words dam up in her throat, like a torrent of water straining against concrete to burst free. "No way… he…"

Her right fist clenched, and she could hear the grinding of plastic and metal as her fingers strangled empty air.

"He said I'd see him again!"

She slammed her fist into the wall behind her.

"He made me a promise! He said he'd come back!"

Yang was past angry. She was burning up inside from a complex mixture of emotions she either had never felt before or knew far, far too well. She felt her eyes start to flicker crimson, but fought desperately to keep it together. She didn't know what to direct her boiling, red-hot rage at. She didn't even know why she was angry. She knew Spade wouldn't just up and die like that. Somewhere deep inside her, she knew it couldn't be true.

But she'd thought the same thing about everyone else.

"You son of a bitch!" She shouted at Wintergreen, her anger lashing out at the nearest target of its own accord. "Where did you send him!? Where did Spade go!?"

"Stand down!" Wintergreen barked. "I just lost one of my best men. I'm not losing anyone else by you chasing after him. If Spade's alive, he'll find his way back. He always has."

Based on Yang's personal experience, she didn't like the odds.

"Get some rest." He said, his voice gentler. "You'll need your strength."

Yang walked out and slammed the door behind her.

 _Spade… please don't end up like Summer..._

 _Please…_

But she knew Wintergreen wouldn't have told her if there was a chance of him coming back.

She stormed out of the inn and across the street to the tavern. Yang didn't know if she was angry at Spade, Wintergreen, herself, or the entire world she lived in. She knew the risks. She knew that Spade knew the risks. She knew he would have volunteered the mission anyway. And she knew that Spade would've done everything he could to come back alive. She knew all that, at least in her head.

But all she felt in her heart was anger, guilt, and an irrational, all-too-familiar sense of betrayal.

One thing Yang had learned during her time as a soldier, and had learned from watching Qrow all those years as a kid, was that sometimes the easiest way to fix a problem in the short-term was to drink yourself into oblivion.

And she didn't have a long-term solution anyway.

She never had.

* * *

Qrow had flown to the coordinates Wintergreen had given him, wary and alert for the slightest sign of trouble from either him or Raven. He was in the back end of the middle of nowhere, miles away from anything and everything. The dawn and morning horizon in the distance and dense forest below had been clear of threats for hours.

And when he finally came upon the familiar encampment, Qrow found it completely empty.

There was no one in the camp. All the temporary tents and structures were there, but there was no sign of people currently present. Not a single person appeared to have been left behind to protect the camp.

 _No, this isn't right…_

Qrow jumped off his tree limb perch and transformed to human. As he came out into the open, he glanced around the clearing for signs of an ambush. He found none. No one jumped out of the foliage to attack him as he approached the front gate of the camp. No arrow flew out of the trees to pin his hand to the door as he pushed it open with little effort. No unseen guards jumped him on the other side of the sharpened tree-trunk palisade as he walked right into the heart of the camp.

It seemed as if the Branwen tribe had just vanished off the face of the earth.

 _Hmmm..._

Kneeling over a nearby campfire, Qrow held a hand over the grey ashes and flame-charred logs. They were still faintly warm. He guessed that they had left only a few hours ago, perhaps around midnight or thereabouts. Which direction they were headed, he didn't know.

 _But where are they now?_

He looked over at the biggest tent in the encampment. The leader's shelter. Raven's shelter.

Stepping up onto the raised platform, Qrow pushed the tent flap aside and stepped into the large living space. It was decorated with fine rugs, Grimm parts, and years' worth of other treasures looted from the tribe's many raids. Qrow thought he recognized a few of the items, bringing up faint but still very painful memories of his past. After a moment of reflecting on a dark, bloody life, Qrow noticed a letter resting on the low tea table. It had a single word written on it in dark red ink, face up so it could clearly be seen.

" _Brother"_

"Son of a..." Qrow groaned to himself and picked up the letter. He reached inside the unsealed flap, and pulled out a single piece of paper. It was the familiar photograph of Team STRQ, with him, Summer, Tai, and Raven during their days at Beacon. It was Raven's copy of the picture.

Raven and Qrow's faces were crossed out with red ink.

 _What…?_

Qrow flipped the photo over. There were three lines of poetry written on the back in the same red ink.

" _Gold beauty is lost_

 _Light and shadow doomed to fight_

 _Twin fates sealed from birth."_

It was a haiku.

It was a suicide poem.

Before Qrow could even think to be shocked, he heard the roar of aircraft engines in the distance.

 _Raven, what did you do!?_

He dropped the piece of paper and ran outside, his scythe drawn. Four military-equipped dropships descended upon the empty camp. Three hovered above the walls, their sides open with familiar black-clad soldiers hanging out with their weapons trained on him.

"Son of a bitch!"

As he stared down nine ex-Atlas Special Forces operatives flying above, Qrow knew his chances of escape were close to zero. Even if he transformed into a crow, it was every bit as likely they could follow him wherever he went. And he couldn't fly forever.

But Qrow could put two and two together.

As the fourth dropship made it's landing in the center of camp before him, Qrow knew that Wintergreen had betrayed him. He'd led Qrow to the camp so he could in turn lead someone else straight to Raven.

And there was only one person who could be on that dropship.

The doors opened as the ship set down and whipped up a cloud of dust, and a lone figure disembarked to stand before Qrow.

"Hello… Uncle."

Heian stood a short distance away from the foot of the tent's platform, staring up at Qrow with a cold, merciless gaze. He held Qrow's eyes for a long, tense moment before sweeping his head around to take in his surroundings.

"So, finally decide to stop running from who you were born to be?" Heian asked, stepping forward with his arms raised out to his sides. "Or are you just passing through?"

"I don't know where Raven is!" Qrow shouted over the deafening noise of jet-engines. "I came here and found the place empty. I don't know any more than you do!"

"I thought as much." Heian said, as if he really didn't expect Qrow to know anything from the start. "Let me guess, you came here to force Raven to use her Semblance and take you to Yang?"

Something in Qrow's body language must have given him away, because Heian smiled a calm, cruel, smile. Heian must have known about Raven's Semblance, her ability to create a portal to certain people she had bonded with. She had one for Qrow. One for Tai.

And one for Yang.

"As it turns out, I'm after the same exact thing. I won't kill Raven first. I'll beat her, force her to open a portal to my dear sister, and kill Yang right before her very eyes. And do you know why?"

When Qrow didn't respond, Heian raised a clenched, gloved fist.

"Because I want her to _know_. To see it with her own eyes. I want Mother to see what she has created. I want Raven Branwen to look upon the monsters she gave birth to and drown in her terrible children's own blood! I want her to know before the end that I HAVE BESTED HER AND HER PRECIOUS DAUGHTER!"

Qrow saw it in Heian's eyes. This wasn't just revenge. Based on what Raven and Blake had told him about their own encounters with him, Heian was ruthless. Efficient. When he wanted revenge on someone or something, he did whatever it took, and he did it quickly without remorse or mercy.

But this was the one, bloody exception. It went far beyond simple, cold-blooded revenge.

This was _hate_. Purified, refined, and honed to a deadly, razor-sharp edge. Heian didn't care how he took his revenge on Yang or the entire world as long as he got it _done_. But for all Raven had done to him, for everything he held her personally responsible for…

Raven was the one person in all of Remnant he simply had to _beat_.

 _Yeah, that's Raven's kid alright._

Qrow raised his weapon, allowing it fully extend into its true scythe form. He gripped the shaft with both hands, angling the massive curved blade behind him as he took his combat stance. Heian's smile faded. He stood there, deathly still, seemingly unconcerned. He just casually raised a gloved hand to his men in a silent command for then to hold their fire. They wouldn't interfere. It was between him and Qrow.

"Okay kid. I get it." Qrow said, and moved his foot forward to the edge of the platform. "You want to kill Raven? Knock yourself out. But if you want to get to Yang…"

The rest of the world just… faded away into the wind. The noise. The trees. The sky. Qrow thought about absolutely nothing else other than the battle before him. Everything, maybe even the fate of the entire world, was riding on this one fight.

But to Qrow, all that mattered was protecting Yang.

"Then you have to go through me."


	19. Sacrifices

**Chapter 19:**

 **Sacrifices**

* * *

 **20 Years Earlier**

Raven always thought she would endure the pains of childbirth in stoic silence, but as with many things in life, reality often proved to be far different than how one imagined it.

"AGGGGHHHH!"

Raven was sitting up in the bed, propped up with an ungodly amount of pillows, drenched in sweat and in possibly more pain than she'd ever felt in her entire life. It certainly felt that way. Tai and Summer were at her side, holding her hands and trying to comfort her as she struggled to push the two little parasites called infants out of her body and into the world. Qrow was out on a mission somewhere, playing Ozpin's pawn in the endless and pointless game against Salem.

"Tai, I'm going to kill you for putting these things inside me!" Raven screamed as another contraction threatened to send her over the edge from hormonal upheaval to outright murder. "I'm going to cut off your balls and shove 'em up your-!"

"It's alright dear." Tai said calmly, holding his hand in Raven's iron grip. "There's no need to be _anal_ about it."

"Tai!" Summer's eyes flicked across the bed in annoyance at their teammate's terribly timed pun. Raven personally wanted nothing more than to snap his neck. "How we doing!?"

"Almost there." Doctor Snorri called out calmly from the foot of the bed. He'd had to come all the way from Vale out to their house in Patch on personal recommendation from an old friend, somehow arriving just in time before Raven properly went into labor. "Come on, just a little more."

"AAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!"

Raven leaned her head back on the pillows and stared up at the ceiling, her eyes burning on the verge of tears.

 _I won't cry. I will not cry!_

She pushed.

"There's one." The doctor said, stepping away from the bed to one of the two basins of warm water sitting on the nearby dresser. "Summer, take over."

"Got it!" Summer replied and let go of Raven's hand, rushing around to the business end of the whole ordeal. "Okay… now what?"

"Just be ready to catch the baby when it comes out. And don't drop it."

"I won't!" Summer declared, staring into the maw of the beast, her silver eyes full of confidence and determination. "Come on Raven! PUSH!"

 _Once more unto the breach…_

Raven made one final, tremendous push. It felt like she was trying to squeeze a full-size Ursa out from between her legs instead of a human child. She gripped Tai's hand like a hydraulic vice and focused on crushing every last bone just to stay conscious.

"THIS THING IS GOING TO KILL ME!"

"No it's not Raven." Tai soothed, holding on for dear life and even starting to wince from the pain. "You can do this! You are Raven Branwen. You can survive anything."

"And… there!" Summer announced as the wave of tearing pain had finally crested and passed. "All done!"

The last thing Raven heard before she blacked out was the tiny scream of a newborn baby.

* * *

At the time, Raven had been too preoccupied with her own agonizing pain that she didn't know which of the twins had been born first. Those long, painful hours in labor had not been among her finest moments. She was just glad that the whole ordeal was finally, _finally_ over.

"You two are going to be the death of me." She said down to the two little infants resting in each of her arms.

The one on her right, the little blond-headed girl, gurgled something incomprehensible and stared up at Raven with lilac eyes. Outside the window, the sun had risen in the eastern sky, shining light on the baby's golden head. She reached up and grabbed a lock of her mother's raven hair in a tiny fist before closing her eyes again and falling back to sleep.

The other child, the boy with almost the same blond hair and indigo eyes, remained still and quiet.

"Kids." A familiar voice said quietly.

Raven looked up to see a ghost standing in the doorway. She hadn't heard him at all, but coming off the hormonal rush of delivering a baby aside, there were very few who could. He had a millennia's worth of reasons to hide.

Some things should remain hidden from view.

"Tai let you in here without trying to kill you?" Raven teased the man in the shadows.

Sven didn't answer as he walked into the room and stood at the side of the bed.

"Snorri said no complications or defects." He eventually said, looking down at the two babies at Raven's side. "He left. Tai and Summer are asleep."

"It's been a long night." Raven said and held out the little girl. Most people would think she was absolutely insane trusting him with one of her newborn children. But all things considered, she had little room to talk. "Here."

Sven took the baby, effortlessly cradling her in his arms as if he'd spent more time handling children than the sword sheathed across his back. The little girl opened her eyes, and just when Raven thought she was going to start wailing from fear, the baby only yawned happily and nuzzled her head against his shoulder.

"She seems to like you."

"I guess. What's her name?"

"Yang." Raven answered. "Yang and Heian Xiao Long."

"Light and Dark." Sven said, looking down at Yang. "You leaving them here?"

"Yes. I've been away far too long as it is. Summer and Tai will take care of them."

Raven had gone to Beacon for the benefit of her tribe, to be trained as a Huntress so she could kill other Huntsmen that much easier. She hadn't intended to stay in Vale this long. A lot of things had happened that she did not intend. But now that she'd given birth to the twins, Raven had nothing else to tie her down.

It was time to go home.

Sven didn't say anything for a long time.

"He's quiet."

Raven looked back down to Heian. The child hadn't done much of anything since he was born. He was quiet and still where his sister was active and eager to get on with life, as much as a newborn ever was. It actually made Raven more than a little uneasy, though she could not say why.

"He is. So what?"

"A silent twin is a bad omen. It means they're destined to fight."

"Siblings often do that. Qrow's not coming back with me. Ozpin magically grew him a conscience and he decided to become a Huntsmen."

"I mean one of them is going to die."

Raven raised her head and looked Sven in his heterochromatic eyes. They were serious. And sad.

They always were.

"Ugh." She hated when he started talking prophecy. "What do you want me to do about it? They want to tear each other's throats out? Let them. In a few days it's out of my hair as far as far as I'm concerned."

"Do what you want." Sven said and handed back Yang before turning toward the door. "But whatever happens is on you."

"You led them on a suicide mission." Raven said coldly. "You have no right to say a damn thing."

He didn't respond, though Raven knew that wasn't at all what happened.

 _If it had been a suicide mission, then you'd be the only one who didn't come back…_

After Sven stepped out and his almost dead silent footsteps receded down the hall, Raven sighed and looked back down to the twins. For some reason, she was afraid. It was a primordial fear that she couldn't explain or understand. She didn't know if it was just the biological chemistry of being a mother, or something bubbling up like black tar from the depths of her soul. Something in Sven's warning had struck a chord. It was a dark and somber note.

And when it came to dire omens, he was often right.

 _You'd know… wouldn't you?_

Gazing upon her two children, Raven looked at all the information she had in front of her, assessed the situation…

And made a choice.

* * *

 **Present Day**

As Raven stood on the rooftop and looked over the town of Higanbana, she realized she'd made a mistake. Several, in fact. Sven's warning had haunted her thoughts, like a shadow in the dark of night, and it made her feel afraid of what would happen to her children if she left them together in Patch. So twenty years ago, she'd taken Heian away and placed him in an orphanage in Mistral, just close enough to keep an eye on.

But it wasn't close enough.

He ran away when he was eight. He disappeared entirely. At that point, Raven let him go. He would find his own way in the world, without her or anyone else's interference. She'd had to fight for survival at the same age. It was the way the world worked.

And then, when Heian was twelve, he found her. They fought. Raven won.

Heian hated her. He hated her with every fiber of his being. But he was only a child. At the time, he wasn't a real threat, to her or her tribe. She hadn't had the heart to kill him. He was still her son.

She didn't know what he would become.

 _I should have killed you long ago._

 _I'm sorry…_

"Are we ready?"

Raven looked over her shoulder. A man in one of Wintergreen's uniforms walked across the roof toward her, a sword strapped with a leather belt across his back. He removed his goggles and helmet, revealing eyes that were two different colors and long dark blond hair that waved in the early morning breeze. It was still quite chilly, but neither of the seasoned warriors seemed to notice or care.

"Everything is prepared." Raven said and removed her own helmet. "How are things on this end?"

"Fine." Sven replied simply and drew up beside her.

"And Yang?"

"She'll be ready."

In less than an hour, the Branwen tribe would swarm over Higanbana. Wintergreen's soldiers would fight back. It would be a bloodbath. Meanwhile, far from the battle, Qrow would be drawing Heian's attention away at their abandoned camp.

Raven needed time, and she was going to trade her own brother's life for it.

 _Qrow… I'd never be able to say this in person. I'm sorry. I'm sorry things had to be this way._

 _But sacrifices must be made._

Raven grimaced. She'd made a choice. The same choice so many others had made, thinking they were doing the right thing. The same choice people like Summer Rose had paid the price for.

 _I refused to be your sacrifice, Oz. I refuse to die for anyone else's cause._

 _But even I sacrifice people._

Along this dark path, Raven had made many sacrifices. She'd sacrificed Vernal. She'd sacrificed Shay. She was about to throw her own brother and possibly her entire tribe onto the fire just for the ghost of a chance to stop Heian somewhere in the future. At first, she'd made those sacrifices that she and hers would be able to survive.

But Raven knew that, one way or another, this was the end of the road for her. She had nowhere left to run.

"What a mess we made when it all went wrong…" Raven said, closing her eyes for a moment, searching for even a shred of peaceful solace before the end.

"This is on us." Sven spoke, his voice as ancient and cold as his body. "You made them both into demons. I created Hell. We started this. It's our duty to finish it."

"Is that what you said about Spade?" Raven turned to her friend, her own voice much softer than her words. "Did you tell yourself that he was a necessary evil?"

"It wasn't my choice." He admitted, though Raven already knew it wasn't. "I never wanted him. The last thing the world needs is a copy of me. But I cast my shadow a long time ago. And he's still a human being. He makes his own choices. They both do."

She knew he was right. For all their scheming and manipulations, neither Raven nor anyone else could make the choice for them. All of Remnant was standing on the very brink of annihilation because Raven had made a choice for Yang and Heian when they were born. Whatever happened, whatever may lay at the end of the road, from this day forward would be their decision.

 _But we can't just leave this up to fate._

"If Yang and I are unable to defeat Heian, then you must promise me that you and Wintergreen will find a way to kill him."

Sven nodded.

 _I know you'd rather stay out of this, but if we can't stop him, then you two are our last resort. Wage war. Do whatever it takes. It's what you do best. It's what you've done for a thousand years._

 _But I know Yang can win this fight._

Whatever was going to happen at the end of the day ahead, Raven knew she would have to sacrifice everything she had left to stop Heian from destroying everything else.

There was no other way.

"Alright, we've waited long enough." Raven said and turned to Sven. "Do it."

Before she could even blink, almost faster than she could even see, Sven had drawn his sword and ran her through. Raven barely felt a thing. He hadn't stabbed her physical body, and for once, hadn't drawn any blood. Sven had had cut into her very soul so he could draw out something else.

He withdrew his ancient, bloodied sword from her chest. The Maiden's power faded away like shining dust in the wind. That was it. Raven was no longer the Spring Maiden, no longer a vessel for unimaginable power. She wouldn't need it for the battle ahead.

It was just another necessary sacrifice.

Everything was in place. The stage was set. Over five years of planning had all come down to this. Raven held no illusions. She knew this could very well be the last day of the Branwen tribe. There would be a battle. Blood would be shed. People would die. They would all die hoping their sacrifice would allow someone else to see the sunrise.

And if they were going to survive, they would have to do it on their own strength.

 _That's what this is about. That's what this has always been about._

 _Now there's only one thing left for me to give you, Yang…_


	20. Means

**Chapter 20:**

 **Means**

" _Come on Yang. It's time to get up."_

"Go away Dad…" Yang said into the wooden tabletop that her head had been glued to for hours.

" _Yang! It's time for school!"_

"Leave me alone Ruby…"

" _Come on sweetie. You need to wake up…"_

 _Mom…?_

Yang thought she could hear the voices of ghosts from the past, but somewhere deep beneath the alcoholic murk she'd drank herself into over the course of several hours, she knew that Spade was gone. Everyone she'd ever known and loved was gone forever. They were either dead or had tossed her away.

And Yang knew they were never coming back.

Ever.

"Come on." Another familiar voice said by her shoulder. "You need to move."

She turned her head from the darkness beneath her arms and saw Spade standing next to her.

 _I'm dreaming… You can't be real…_

"You're not really here…" Yang said and turned her head back into her arms. "Please… just leave me alone…"

The ghost of Spade leaned over and gently kissed the back of her head.

"I'm sorry."

Yang felt a sharp stab of pain in her neck. Adrenaline instantly flooded her entire body like a frozen fjord melting in spring. The haze over her mind faded like clouds on a sunny day. She sprang up and looked around, immediately alert.

Spade, or whatever she thought was Spade, was nowhere to be seen. He'd disappeared without a trace.

The rest of the world started to filter in through the initial tunnel vision. She was still up on the balcony, in the bar across the street from the inn. The place was empty. It was dark inside. There was faint daylight coming in from the windows down below.

"Yang." A familiar voice said from the shadows.

She turned to look across the balcony, and found someone she'd stop wanting to see a lifetime ago.

"Mom."

Raven Branwen removed her helmet and stared at her daughter.

"You need to know the truth."

* * *

Heian gave Qrow less than no time to react, and he was fighting tooth and nail just to keep up with his murderous nephew's sheer tenacity.

The fierce duel raged in the center of the abandoned camp. Every single strike and blow delivered was returned in the wave and tide of attack and counter attack. Wielding his scythe with all the skill he could muster, Qrow was constantly on the defensive. For every attack he could throw out, Heian would just push back that much harder.

But that didn't stop Qrow from recognizing a very familiar pattern.

 _He fights just like Yang. Right in my face._

 _I've still got a foot in the ring, but I can't keep this up all day…_

Qrow pirouetted and slashed with his scythe when he got just enough room to move. Heian ducked and rushed forward into the opening. Barely able to react in time, Qrow pulled his scythe toward him only to watch his opponent do a backflip over the blade. Landing on his feet a short distance away, Heian paused, his fists raised and ready to strike at any moment.

Finally able to catch his breath, Qrow racked his brain, looking for any edge or advantage that would keep him alive for a few more minutes.

 _I need to get him off balance, but I don't think he's the type to get riled up by a few insults about his mother._

As the pieces started to come together in his head, Qrow realized just how well thought out Wintergreen's, and Raven's, plan really was. Vale, Pyrrha, the bar, all of it. Partnered from the very start, Raven and Wintergreen had pushed Qrow around like a piece on a chessboard. Everything that had happened since and maybe even before Vale had all been done to bring everything down to this.

 _Played like a damn fiddle._

 _But why?_

That was the one thing Qrow still couldn't figure out. What did either of them have to gain? What ultimate purpose did this carefully orchestrated duel serve? Qrow and Raven were almost evenly matched, and if Raven thought he could actually kill Heian in a one-on-one, then she would've done it herself years ago.

He glanced at the nine soldiers clad in black, silent and unmoving witnesses to the fight. These people were masters at getting people to turn on each other. Wars were won and lost just by getting others to do the fighting until both sides were weakened and ready for the kill. Misdirection, machination, and manipulation.

And it was all being ran by two, no, _three_ , of the best in the business.

 _So what's the endgame? Raven wouldn't even blink at killing me off to get what she wants, and Wintergreen is a wild card. But Sven…_

Qrow's eyes widened from realization.

 _They don't need me to kill him. They just need me to distract him._

 _They need time._

He didn't know for what, or if their grand master plan would even work, but Qrow had put his chips on whatever ace they had up their sleeve. Raven's only goal was to stop Heian. Wintergreen was focused on his personal crusade against Atlas. And Sven, even after _everything_ he'd done, wouldn't let Qrow die.

Not without giving him a fighting chance.

"Let me ask you something kid." Qrow said across the distance to his nephew. "What happens when you win? Raven and Yang are dead, the world goes to war, and everything you hate comes toppling down. What happens when there's nothing left but fighting for survival?"

Heian didn't even hesitate in his reply.

"Is that not enough? For warriors such as us? Is this not what we were born to be? Humanity has had to fight for its right to _exist_ since we first came into this dark, cruel world. But we live in an age that has forgotten this simple fact. We live in a world where so many are content to let others die for them and then turn around to condemn the fallen. Ever since the Great War, the warriors and soldiers of this world have been pushed to the edge of extinction! All I'm doing is taking _our world_ back!"

Qrow saw something beneath the overflowing rage in Heian's eyes. Something he always saw in his own sister's eyes.

Fear.

"You know, you're a lot like Raven." Qrow said, knowing full well he'd hit his mark. "You're just a scared little kid killing whoever it takes to live another day."

Heian didn't give a shout of unchecked anger or lose all self-control right then and there. He only leapt forward once more to continue the battle. But Qrow saw that he was now slightly off-balance, his barely-checked wrath finally getting the better of him.

Beneath the cold, calculating surface, Heian was just like Yang. Hot-headed and prone to punching his way out of a problem.

And that was something Qrow could fight against.

Heian was still every-bit as deadly, if not more so, and Qrow still struggled to keep up. But he'd gained just enough of an edge to stay in the fight. When Heian tried to grab the shaft of his scythe, Qrow transformed into a crow and out of reach. He did a barrel roll under Heain's still outstretched arm and shifted back behind him.

Qrow finally managed to land a solid hit on Heian's Aura, his slash causing it to flicker indigo under the scythe's blade. Not enough to break it, but Qrow had the sneaking suspicion he wasn't meant to. Before Heian could make a full turn to counter-attack, Qrow shifted again into a crow to dodge out of the way.

The whole crow thing had obviously thrown Heian for a loop. He was used to fighting regular soldiers, not people who could transform into birds and back at will.

 _I've got a chance. I can do this. All I gotta do is keep going for a little while longer._

Qrow knew, somewhere deep down, that he was playing the longest odds of his life.

* * *

Yang took a seat across from her mother. Now that her mind was clear, she was vaguely reminded of their last encounter in the Vale wilderness. And if she were armed, Yang would still have killed her without a second thought.

 _Why am I even listening to her?_

"So," Yang stared at Raven in the dim light. "What's the truth?"

Raven leaned back in her chair, her eyes cold and searching.

"The truth," Raven began. "Is that "truth" is hard to come by. A story of victory for one person is a story of defeat for someone else. By now, Wintergreen has surely told you plenty of stories."

Actually, he hadn't. Yang rarely saw Wintergreen, knew very little about him. She'd never needed to. He'd saved her life. Given her a place. A purpose. Serving under him, like so many others in his army, had always been enough for Yang.

 _Until yesterday._

"Well, he's never given me a reason to doubt him before."

"That doesn't mean those reasons don't exist." Raven pressed, as if she could see the doubt in Yang's eyes. "You know, you and your partner might as well be the poster children for the mercenary armies. Your motives vary, but you both joined because Wintergreen asked you to. It's adorable."

"What's your point?"

"How much do you know about Wallace Wintergreen? About his past?"

"He was… a soldier. A member of Atlas Special Forces. Until he left and started his own army."

"Because Atlas betrayed him? Because he wanted to 'save the world'? Wintergreen essentially started the private armed forces, has followers inside every army on Remnant that are loyal to him. And no one else."

Yang's eyes widened in surprise, though she remained highly skeptical. Wintergreen could play the charismatic lost soldier on a bad day, and he could get people to follow him like nobody else...

 _But every army in the world?_

"That doesn't make any sense! How could he have...? No. Why would someone even do that?"

"Because 'The Boss' has a great and terrible secret. One that could spread fear across the world. One that I eventually discovered, and once I knew, there was no going back. I needed to know more, but with every new discovery I made, the more horrifying the world became."

"Okay, then tell me. What's the big secret? What's so crazy that the rest of us don't know?"

Raven leaned forward, her eyes still colder than ice and deadly serious.

"Wintergreen is planning to strike at Atlas. He's been building his forces for years. The mercenaries and their armies, they all ultimately belong to him. And we will use every weapon in his arsenal to burn Atlas to the ground."

Yang stood from her chair and narrowed her eyes at her mother.

"Why should I believe any of this?"

"Now you're catching on. So far you've done nothing but accept what others tell you. But you need to question everything."

Raven stood and turned away, walking back from the table into the shadows.

"Otherwise you'll end up just as blind as Qrow…"

Yang gritted her teeth, her anger seething at the dismissive mention of her uncle. Raven turned and looked back over her shoulder.

"And your fool of a partner."

Yang slammed her fist down onto the table. The wood cracked and splintered under the impact, shattering into pieces on the floor at her feet. She felt her eyes go red, her body and mind right on the very edge. She was so close to reaching out and choking the life out of her own mother it was frightening.

"Don't you _dare_ talk about my family like that!" Yang shouted, her fists clenched tightly at her sides. "You don't know the first thing about Spade! About _me_! You were never there! You LEFT US!"

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Yang's anger almost dissipated. She almost asked why Raven had left.

But she already knew the answer, and had nothing left to hold the sad, lonely rage back. Nothing left in her to give her mother the benefit of the doubt that she had a reason to leave that wasn't purely selfish.

"I know more than you realize. Not just about you, and not just what I've been told, but things I've seen with my _own_ eyes. I know you're all being used. I know people who can come back from the dead."

Raven paused and turned away.

"And I know what Spade really was."

Yang's body moved without thinking. She went straight for Raven, fully intent to kill her where she stood. Raven whipped around and drew her sword to meet Yang's advance, attempting to cut her own daughter without hesitation. Yang raised her right arm to deflect the blow, the red-Dust blade screeching and sparking against metal and plastic where Yang's Aura did not protect the artificial limb. She reached inside Raven's guard to drive her Aura-powered left fist through Raven's chest, but felt it connect with nothing where Raven had stood not even a heartbeat before.

 _What the…!?_

Yang looked around for her opponent, searching for Raven in the shadows, but found nothing.

"Come out and face me, you coward!" Yang yelled into the darkness. "You sent me to die in Mistral! You came all this way just to pick a fight with me! Well, come on _Mom_. Let's finish this right here and now!"

There was no response. Yang waited for several long moments for Raven to attack again, but nothing happened. She'd vanished entirely.

Again.

 _Just like before._

 _Just like Spade…_

As Yang stood there in the dark, a thought began creeping up in the back of her mind. The idea that what she'd seen wasn't real. That Spade and Raven were never there. That she was actually losing her mind, as she'd done so long ago when she killed Mercury Black in front of the entire world.

 _Am I insane?_

 _Am I losing my sanity along with everything else?_

That was the last thing that went through Yang's mind before she heard an aircraft roared overhead and the entire building exploded around her.

* * *

In the midst of their ongoing duel, Qrow heard the now unmistakable sound of military aircraft and missiles. Qrow knew that sound. He recognized the strategically orchestrated symphony of carefully executed destruction from three years ago. He'd had a front row seat in a quite literal theater of war.

 _What the hell is Atlas doing here!?_

The brief moment of distraction almost cost him his life. Qrow was just barely able to parry a bare-fisted strike from Heian. He'd managed to stay in the fight so far with no small assistance help from his Semblance, quick thinking, and even quicker luck. But Qrow could feel himself tiring. He was being pushed to his limit, and he knew all too well his luck would soon run out one way or another.

 _Could really use that dues ex machina right about now…_

But so far, Wintergreen's soldiers had only sat back and watched. They seemed to be waiting for something, though Qrow could not guess _what_ for with his own nephew trying to kill him with every half-breath.

 _I got to finish this. If I don't end this fight right soon, I'm gonna die._

Although Heian had been initially thrown off by his opponent's transforming-bird ability, he'd quickly adapted by staying just within the edge of Qrow's guard to keep him from pulling the same stunt twice. Qrow fought for every inch of room he could get, putting himself in a fighting retreat for the few feet of space he needed for what was quite possibly the last trick up his sleeve. A small gap widened between them as Heian shifted his weight backward for a just a fraction of an instant. It wasn't much.

But it was enough.

Qrow seized the opportunity and broke off his defense, transforming into a crow and pumping his black wings for speed and altitude. He circled high above the camp, straining for every bit of height and not bothering to be at all discrete about it.

He could've escaped right then and there, and for what seemed a long moment considered it. But he was committed, and knew what would happen if he didn't kill Heian right here and now, Raven and Wintergreen's schemes be damned.

When he reached the apex of his flight, he caught a glimpse off the outside world with his avian eyes. Against the horizon of grey clouds and dark mountains, tall plumes of smoke rose toward the once peaceful sky. Even with his limited view, Qrow saw it for what it was.

 _Damn it Jim! Do you ever learn!?_

But Qrow forced himself to look away turned his attention down to earth once more. This was his piece of the greater battle. For Anima. For the entire world.

And for Yang.

He dived, rapidly losing altitude until he hit terminal velocity as a bird before transforming to human and using his Aura to gain even more downward force, and willing the laws of physics to bend the rules for this one, final attack.

Qrow raised his sword, poured every last ounce of Aura he had left across the blade, and fell straight for Heian.

Somehow, by some miracle of the universe or the gods or whatever decided crazy shit like this could actually succeed, Qrow hit his mark. He'd swung at Heian in midair just a fraction of a second before he hit the ground. The last thing he saw before his entire world became nothing but dust and pain was his sword strike true against Heian's torso. The kid was thrown back into Raven's tent and it collapsed under the impact.

 _Holy shit. I can't believe that worked…_

Qrow slowly pushed himself off the ground, every muscle in his body screaming for him to just lie down and die. He looked up at the hut Heian had landed in, searching for any sign that he was down for the count. The ruble shifted a bit, and out from the mess of red fabric and splintered wood and bone stood a flickering indigo form.

And when the dust settled, Qrow found Hein battered and bloodied.

But still standing.

 _That's it. I'm done. I can't go anymore. That took everything I had left._

 _Looks like my luck's finally run out…_

Feeling his arms finally give out from under him, Qrow fell back into the dirt, unable to even reach for his sword lying nearby. It felt like an entire world away. He watched Heian merely dust himself off and walk over to him, drawing a handgun from his trenchcoat pocket.

But before Heian could deliver the finishing blow, a set of dirty combat boots stepped into Qrow's sight to stand between them.

"Atlas is invading Anima." Wallace Wintergreen reported blankly. "Full scale. Air strikes on our bases and outposts. Troops landing on the northern coast. Special Forces hitting our airfields and supply facilities. They're pushing hard."

Heian turned his attention away from murdering Qrow as if he were dealing with some minor annoyance.

"What's the status of our forces?"

"Countering on every front. They're holding the line in the north."

"And Raven?"

"ID'd and engaged at Higanbana. Seems she's coordinated her tribe's attack with the invasion."

"So it would seem."

Wintergreen moved out of view and Heian kicked Qrow on to his back, putting his boot on Qrow's chest and staring down at him with cold indigo eyes so unlike Yang's he wondered how they could possibly be siblings. But just when Qrow thought he was going to kill him right then and there, Heian only turned away and motioned to his men.

"We're moving out. Get him up."

Two of Wintregreen's soldiers came forth and picked Qrow up off the ground. They dragged him between them toward a waiting dropship. Qrow had no more strength to resist or even think of some fleeting attempt to escape. He was fighting just to stay awake when they put him onto a seat and bound his hands with plastic hand-ties.

Qrow felt a gloved hand grip his hair. As the dropship began to lift off the ground, his head was forcefully brought up to meet Heian's eyes. There was no more fear. Only determination and resolve to finish what Raven had started when he was born.

"Let's end this."


	21. Ends

**Chapter 21:**

 **Ends**

" _Mother."_

" _Heian. So, after all this time, you finally decided to visit me."_

" _I knew you'd be through here."_

" _And you've found me. You were patient, determined, and strong enough to make your dream a reality. Well done, Heian. But did you have to be so rough with my men?"_

" _I've come to kill you Mother."_

" _At this rate, you'll be dead before you have a chance."_

" _I'm free to die however I wish. Yes… Free. You don't get the last word, Mother. I'll break the curse of my heritage. And to do that, first… I will kill you!"_

* * *

When Yang pushed the charred and smoldering timbers off of her, she thought she'd woken up in Hell.

People were dead. People were dying. Soldiers, bandits, innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire. Higanbana was burning all around her in the wake of the completely unexpected airstrike. The streets were soaked in blood and covered in bodies. The roar of flames, the rancor of gunfire, and the clink of spent casings were all that filled Yang's ears as she fought aimlessly through the carnage.

Eventually, the shooting stopped. The fighting stopped. The screaming stopped.

And there were only two left alive.

Yang found Raven standing alone on the edge of a field on the outskirts of town. It had once been a meadow of white flowers in spring-time bloom. Now it was a graveyard, the green grass trampled under blackened corpses, the white flowers now stained crimson. The sun was obscured by clouds darkened with smoke, the world painted with the literal fog of war.

As she stared at the bodies of her fallen comrades and enemies, Raven's face was simultaneously distant, furious, and sad. She didn't appear too shaken up about the death of her men, which didn't surprise Yang in the slightest, but something had clearly rattled her. Yang glanced around at the carnage and devastation, and as she looked upon the brutal scene of war, she began to understand why.

Clearly, the airstrikes had not been part of the plan. No one in Higanbana had been spared. Raven had made her move, and probably knew full well much of her tribe would die in the battle. But this was almost complete annihilation.

There was a phrase for it. Several, in fact. Shock and awe. Scorched earth. Total war.

And Raven had put everything she'd ever cherished right in the middle of it.

 _Do I have any sympathy left in me, even for my own mother? Can I really say I understand her and what she's done?_

 _No. I can't._

"I warned you, Yang." Raven said as she turned to face Yang. "I gave you the opportunity to walk away from Wintergreen. So you can believe me when I say this wasn't personal."

Yang was still tensed, still caught riding the wave of adrenaline and whatever else was coursing through her veins.

But she still saw the empty, resigned look in Raven's eyes.

"Everyone is dead."

"Thanks to the chaos you and your friends caused up north. I knew you could handle it. You're my daughter after all."

"Wintergreen told me once that a good commander should fight for those who fight for them. Your tribe… they would've had to have trusted you if they followed you into a battle they couldn't win. Cared about you a lot."

"I'm sure he told you plenty." Raven's voice was cold. "And you just sat and obeyed."

"No. I'm starting to ask questions like you said."

After everything that had happened in the past few hours, Yang couldn't help but ask questions. Atlas attacking Higanbana, right where Wintergreen and his men were, was almost proof that Raven had been telling the truth. And if Wintergreen, a soldier all but shunned and reviled by his kingdom, was waging a war against the most powerful military in the entire world, how far would he go to win it?

What would he sacrifice in the name of victory?

Yang once thought she knew the answer. But with every question she asked herself, her almost blind admiration and trust in the man she knew as Wallace Wintergreen began to chip away piece by piece.

"So tell me... what happened to Spade? Did he die in battle? Was it sickness?"

"What does it matter to you?"

Raven's features were drawn with almost genuine pain and grief, and in her mother's crimson eyes, Yang's worst fear was all but confirmed.

 _That's where he sent Spade. That's why she's afraid of Wintergreen._

"I can already see the answer. It's all over your face. How could you!?"

"You have _no idea_ what he was!" Raven shouted, her calm and collected composure gone. "What he would have become if I had let him live! When he came after me, I saw that he was already on a path _no one_ comes back from! What I did-!"

"Wasn't personal."

"It was mercy!"

"Which is it, Mom? Are you merciful, or are you a survivor? Did you let me walk into that trap because you knew I could handle it, or because it meant you could get what you wanted!?"

Yang was referring to the night, three years ago. She understood that Raven had sent her to Mistral to do something that would benefit her, not particularly concerned if her own daughter was put in harm's way or died in the process. She saw the truth strewn on the ground all around them. Despite the gaps and questions that remained in the back of Yang's mind, it was obvious now that Raven didn't care how many people died for her so as long as she herself was still standing at the end of the day.

"It's not that simple." Raven insisted, as if there was something she could possibly say to excuse her actions. "You don't know me, you don't know what I've been through, the choices I've had to make!"

"You're right. I don't know you."

Yang raised her arms to indicate the scene of death around them.

"But I know you killed them, too."

Raven's eyes flashed and burned with wounded anger.

"I've stared death in the face over and over again! And every time I've spat in that face and survived, because I'm strong enough to do what others won't!"

"Oh, shut up!" Yang snapped and spat. "You don't know the first thing about strength! You turn your back on people, you run away when things get too hard, you put others in harm's way instead of yourself!"

Yang pulled up her right sleeve to show Raven what she had done to her daughter. Her prosthetic limb was aflame with phantom pain, and the other shook with fury waiting to be unleashed. She raised her trembling left hand and pointed at Raven.

"You might be powerful, but that doesn't make you strong."

Raven turned away.

"You don't want to do this Yang…"

"Nope. But I'm going to do it anyway."

"I…" Raven put her hand on the hilt of her sword. "I'm sorry…"

Yang had no idea if she was crying or not.

But the time for tears, and words, had passed long ago.

"Me too…"

And in an instant, Raven had drawn her sword and spun around to strike at Yang. She ducked under the blade and went for an uppercut, which only glanced of Raven's Aura despite the power Yang put into it. Raven immediately sprang back, getting some distance for another attack. Both them were aiming to kill, every strike and movement devoted entirely devoted to killing the other. Their battle raged upon that bloody field, every step treading over the broken bodies of the fallen.

Yang had always been searching for a purpose her entire life. Something to fight for. Something to believe in.

But as she was fighting Raven, Yang saw what she was born to be. Whatever Ruby had that made her so determined to do the right thing had not been passed down to Yang. The proof was right in front of her. She saw it in her mother's eyes. A mirror to her own.

She saw her entire life there. The blood, the death, the endless and pointless conflict. They did not fight for anything but their own survival.

At the end of the day, they fought for nothing but themselves.

It was in their blood.

They fought for what felt like ages, neither one gaining any advantage over the other. Once, Yang would have gone all out, using her Semblance to utterly destroy her opponent in seconds. But three years of being a soldier, learning to hone her instincts and judgement to a fine razor's edge, allowed her to hold back and keep her anger in check. She was fighting more defensively now, waiting and watching for every opportunity to strike at Raven. It stretched out the fight, but Yang patiently stood her ground against her far more experienced mother.

Eventually, inevitably, they were both worn down. Their Auras were broken, their bodies tired and bloody, their will to even take another step forward hanging on by a withering thread.

Somewhere deep inside her, Yang knew it would come down to this.

Somehow, she'd always known.

With their last drop of strength, they stepped forward. Raven raised her sword with both hands, intent to strike her daughter down with a single, final blow. Yang raised her right arm to deflect the attack, leaving a deep gash as the blade scraped down it and into the dirt at Yang's feet. But before Yang could counter, Raven disappeared right before her eyes in a shower of black feathers.

Without thinking, Yang snapped her head to the left. Raven's blade passed right by her ear where her neck had been not an instant before. Yang reached up, grabbed the blade with her right hand, snapped it in half, and twisted around to face her mother.

Yang rammed the crimson blade in her clenched artificial fist into Raven's side, driving it deep into her abdomen.

Raven dropped her sword's hilt and staggered backward, holding her side as the red sash around her waist turned dark. With some last reserve of either defiance or resolve, she tore the blade from her chest. Blood started spilling from her lips, and Raven coughed up even more as she vainly tried walking forward.

She tried to reach out to Yang, not with the blade, but with an empty hand.

And then she fell.

Yang, finally able to breath, gazed down at her mother as she lay dying on the grass and bloodied flowers. Here at the end, she found herself unable to muster any hatred for the woman who'd given birth to her, abandoned her, and sent her to die. It was done. The battle was finally over.

She only had one question left to ask.

"Why did you leave?"

Raven raised her head, her bloody fist holding onto her blade in her very last moments, and with her last breath, spoke to the daughter she'd left behind so long ago.

"The strong… live… The weak…die…"

Her head fell back onto the ground, her eyes closing as life faded from them.

"Those are the rules..."

* * *

Qrow was jostled awake when the dropship landed on the ground, his whole body aching with pain as the craft settled sharply on its landing gear. Heian was first out the door, quickly disembarking without a word or command to his men. Regardless, Wintergreen's two soldiers silently pulled Qrow off his seat and half-carried, half-dragged him out of the dropship.

The first thing that hit him was the overwhelming stench of battle. He'd smelled fresh bodies before, but the sensation burning his bloodied nose was almost completely overwhelming. The coppery scent of blood. The throat rasping fog of Dust gunpowder. The smoky haze of fire burning through metal, wood, and flesh.

After a moment, his eyes adjusted to the sudden illumination. Qrow slowly turned his gaze over the field strewn with bodies. It shook him to his core and froze his blood still.

He'd seen death up close. He'd handed out some of it himself. But this was worse than anything he'd ever done during his early days. Anything he'd seen during his career as a Huntsman. Anything he'd seen that night in Mistral as it fell and burned all around him.

This was the true face, and the true cost, of war. Not the eternal struggle between humanity and the Grimm, but the war humanity seemed all too willing to wage on itself.

But from what Qrow saw, there was only one thing Heian cared about.

Heian had his back turned to him, staring down at Raven's body, but Qrow clearly saw the absolute rage wanting nothing more than to be unleashed and being held back only because its long-intended target was already dead. Qrow could only imagine what the kid was thinking at that moment, and what he would do in the next.

Eventually, Heian turned away and looked back to his men.

"Bring him here."

Just as the two soldiers began to move, Qrow heard a small snipping sound and felt the plastic zip-tie around his wrist loosen as if it were about to snap with only a sharp tug of his arms. The soldier on his left, whose voice Qrow recognized as the female soldier from Beacon, whispered a single word into his ear as they began to move forward.

" _Go."_

As much as Qrow wanted to comply, he couldn't. He wouldn't get away before Heian or someone else gunned him down. He needed just a few more moments to gather his strength, shapeshift, and fly away. Qrow made no attempt to run as the soldiers put him down on his knees in front of Heian, careful not to snap his cuffs too soon.

He came face to face with Raven's body. Her still face possessed a peace and serenity if had not ever glimpsed in life. Qrow had always known Raven as a fighter. From the day they were born, her life had been an unending struggle. But now it was over. Raven had fought her battle and played her part, whatever that ultimately was and to whatever end she'd sacrificed _everything_ for.

Qrow had no idea what would have been in her last thoughts. He'd lost touch with his twin sister a long time ago.

 _That's life I guess. Straying from our roots…_

"Long ago, I vowed that I would kill her." Heian began, his voice cold and emotionless. "I would take everything she loved and burn it to the ground. And here I stand, amidst the ashes..."

Heian stepped toward Qrow and glared down at him.

"Yet I am not yet free. I wanted to watch her die with my own eyes. I have thought of nothing else for eight long years. Everything I have done has led me to this place and moment. And here, at the end of her life, my chance at revenge is lost forever. Even in death, Raven has stolen everything from me."

He drew a handgun from his coat, pulling back on the slide and chambering a round.

"So… this is how it ends?" Qrow asked, gathering every last drop of strength left in his body to make his escape, and starting to fear he would come up short. "You're going to kill me, then run off to fight Atlas? You're going to make the whole world live in fear of another Great War?"

Heian raised the gun to his uncle's forehead, and Qrow saw it again in Heian's pitiless eyes. He saw what truly drove the kid to do what he'd done and will do from that moment on. It was what had always driven Raven to do what she did, right up to the end.

It was in his blood.

"Let the world fear us all." Heian replied simply, wrapping his finger around the trigger. "It's just means to an end."

 _Tai… Summer… Ruby… Yang…_

 _I'm sorry._

Just before Heian began to pull the trigger, Qrow closed his eyes and prepared for the end. Oddly enough, he thought he could hear the sound of gentle waves upon the shore, coming from somewhere far off over the horizon.

It sounded peaceful.

 _Not gone… just far away…_

Then, much closer, Qrow heard a quiet _click_.

And… nothing.

Qrow opened his eyes, finding the gun silent and unmoving in front of him, and Heian's eyes wide in surprised, angry disbelief.

The gun, in a completely unexpected stroke of sheer misfortune, had misfired.

 _Sad to say… I'm your bad luck charm._

"See you around kid."

Seeing and seizing his opportunity, Qrow snapped his cuffs, transformed into a crow, and flew away.

* * *

When the last black feather had settled on Raven's chest, Heian opened the slide of his gun and ejected the chambered round. He studied it closely for several long moments. The casing appeared to have been crimped slightly when it left the magazine, knocking the round out of alignment inside the chamber and preventing it from properly firing. The malfunction was neither the result of improper maintenance nor faulty ammunition.

It was a simple case of bad luck.

"Are you done?"

Heian tossed the deformed casing away and turned to find Wintergreen standing a short distance away.

"Are you finished?" Wintergreen asked, his expression more unconcerned than accusatory. "Raven's dead. You ready to get back to the fight at hand?"

Forcing himself to exhale, Heian replaced his gun in his coat and strode past Wintergreen toward the waiting dropship without further comment. Wintergreen had a point. There was the Atlesian invasion to contend with, and once again, Heian had to put his personal vendetta aside for the moment and focus on the greater objective. They still had a war to start.

Besides, there was only one person who could have killed Raven.

And there was only one way this would end.

 _Not yet._

 _It's not over yet._


	22. Alive

**Chapter 22:**

 **Alive**

" _Radio's runnin' hot mate. Atlas just blitzed through Argus and pushing south at a good clip. Wally's boys 're putting up a fight, but we both know that's not gonna' last. We better get off this bloody continent while we've got the chance."_

" _Agreed. We're done here."_

" _You get what you need?"_

" _Yeah. Raven's dead. Everything's in motion now. Now it's just a matter of time before Atlas makes their move."_

" _You mean this ain't it?"_

" _This is just a prelude. Atlas knows they can't maintain an occupation, even if the invasion does succeed. Rest of the world won't stand for it, not after all the false targets Doppler's been feeding them. Wallace has them backed into a corner. Heian's on the warpath. All according to plan."_

" _Bloody 'ell. All this death… and for fuckin' what mate? You really plan on startin' the war to end all wars?"_

" _No such thing. Wheel keeps on turning."_

" _True enough. What about her?"_

" _For now… she disappears."_

* * *

Qrow groaned and hung his arms over the starboard gunwale as the ship pulled out of harbor and out onto the open sea.

It'd been three days since the invasion kicked off and nearly dueled Heian to the death. He'd been uncharacteristically fortunate to make it to the western coast unscathed and find a merchant vessel headed for Vale across the sea the next morning. By some miracle, the Atlesian Navy hadn't been able to lock down the strait between Anima and Sanus quite yet. Qrow guessed from the occasional aircraft flying north in the distance that Heian's forces still had air superiority this far south.

 _No, not Heian. Wintergreen. He's the one really in charge of this whole mess._

"Hey Qrow."

Qrow jumped and nearly leapt overboard from half-parts stunned surprise and absolute terror. He sprang several meters away to his left across the deck, reaching behind his back for his scythe out of reflex before realizing that it had been taken by Heian's men days ago. Unarmed and practically defenseless against this threat, Qrow took a wary stance and watched for any sign of hostile intent from the man leaning against the gunwale.

 _Oh. Crap._

Sven regarded Qrow with a neutral expression, his sword remaining sheathed across his back, then turned to look back out over the sea.

"Gods, you're jumpy."

After more than a few tense, uneasy moments, Qrow exhaled and forced himself to relax. If Sven wanted to kill him, Qrow knew damn well that he would already be dead. He loosened his footing and cautiously retook his place beside his old acquaintance, his shoulders still tensed from pure, primal instinct.

 _Like seeing a damn ghost..._

"Been a long time." Qrow said simply, too tired and possibly too scared to come up with anything else.

"Couple of decades or so."

"Does it feel like that to you? Living for so long?"

"Time moves normally for me Qrow. I'm still human."

"Sure."

Sven sighed and lowered his head.

"You've got questions. Go ahead and ask."

Qrow only had one.

"Why?"

The sound of gunfire and artillery boomed in the distance. Sven's instantly head whipped around aft to look back at the embattled continent, his face completely blank and his heterochromatic eyes calmly searching the darkened coastline slowly fading into the early morning fog. Back during the Fall of Haven and over the past few days, Qrow had seen that look on many faces. He'd seen it on Yang's face, years after the fact. It was the look of a warrior about to face combat, watching and waiting for contact with the enemy, more reaction than emotion.

Most soldiers Qrow had seen with that expression also had brief looks of surprise, fear, excitement, or a mix of all three.

Sven didn't even flinch.

"Three klicks distant." Sven reported in a dispassionate voice that made it sound routine. "Atlas gunships hitting an arty position. We're good."

"Great…" Qrow replied, not entirely reassured of their immediate safety. They wouldn't be safe until they finally made port in Vale.

 _Who am I kidding? No where's gonna' be safe soon._

Sven turned away from the sounds of far-off fighting and absently gazed northwards again.

"It was Raven's plan from the start. She needed time."

Qrow nodded. Sven, Raven, and Wintergreen had pulled all the stops to place him in the right place at the right time. Faking Pyrrha's death, Sven's message, Wintergreen giving Qrow the Branwen camp's location. It had been a carefully played game on their part to put him in position to distract Heian long enough to complete their objective. He'd barely escaped with his life, presumably thanks to the former Atlas captain and his men. He could only guess that their mission had succeeded.

But that didn't answer Qrow's question.

"Time for what? What were you looking to do there?"

Sven closed his eyes.

"We had to make it look good. Make it look like a genuine fight instead of an elaborate suicide. Keep Heian focused on fighting Atlas instead of getting revenge on Raven. It was the only way."

"You mean…?"

He nodded, and Qrow understood. He'd briefly seen the wound that had killed his sister.

Raven had died by the blade of a sword.

"She asked you to kill her."

Sven opened his eyes again.

"Yeah."

Several long minutes of silence passed between them, the Dust-powered ship plowing further and further away from the battlefield behind them, hopefully bound for safer shores in a world where there were ultimately no safe shores.

Qrow tossed and turned the revelation in his head, trying to put pieces together past a torrent of mixed emotions. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that it couldn't have turned out any other way. It made sense. The three had been playing the long game, and it was obvious that Wintergreen needed Heian as a weapon against his former kingdom. Raven and Sven had been relatively close during his brief time at Beacon. If there was anyone Raven would ask to help her pull off her own glorious death in battle, it was him. But whatever their causes or motivations, whatever the ultimate goal and outcome, it had all come down to their own personal choices. They'd chosen, freely and consciously, exactly how this was going to end.

Raven's fate had been her own decision.

And he knew she would have said the same thing. Right up to the end.

"Okay." Qrow finally said, letting whatever vestiges of pain and remorse he had left in him go. "So, what now?"

"War's started." Sven answered. "Wallace will keep Heian in line for the time being. He knows he's playing with fire, but he's got a direction for it to burn in. Now that Raven's gone, I'm staying out of this. I've done enough already. What will be… will be."

Qrow nodded again, looking back to younger but only less darker days. Despite everything he'd done, he knew Sven had never exactly been a big fan of his role as an professional murderer and harbinger of war. Back at Beacon, during the autumn of their first school year, his sworn millennia of service to a being intent on sending the world into unending chaos had come to an end. And Sven had immediately turned on his former master without a second thought. Afterward, he'd gone off with the rest of Team CMSO to fight one last battle, finally free to right even just a few of the vastly numerous wrongs he'd committed over the course of centuries. His fight was supposed to be finished. It was supposed to be over now.

But it seemed like Sven's time in this world wasn't over just yet.

"What happened?" Qrow asked simply.

"We won the battle. We saved the world."

"And Mairwen? Connor, Bryan?"

"Sailed into the West." Sven said, his eyes fixed on the slowly clearing horizon. "Never to return."

Qrow wondered about that for a long moment, remembering the sound of distant, tranquil shores he'd heard just before he was about to die at his own nephew's hand.

 _So, that's what's waiting for us…_

"And you couldn't go with them? You still can't die? "

Sven nodded again, then pulled something out of his jacket pocket.

"Qrow, there's one more thing I need to tell you."

Just when Qrow thought Sven was going to pull a weapon on him, he looked down to find him holding a familiar pair of aviator sunglasses. The tinted lenses were cracked, the metal frame scuffed and bent slightly out of shape.

Qrow tried to think of when he last saw them.

And then it hit him like a punch in the gut.

"You… you're sure?"

Sven's eyes were distant and sad.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

For a long time, all Yang felt was pain.

Her body had been pushed past its physical limit. Every bone and muscle ached. Her eyes stung from the dust and the blood and the sheer exhaustion of battle. Her wounds still stung sharp and fresh. The phantom pain in her right arm still burned like a smoldering ember where her severed limb should have been. Yang felt like she was dead, or as close to it as she could possibly get.

But the pain told her one thing.

She was still alive.

Yang blinked her tired eyelids open and glanced around. She didn't recognize where she was. She was wrapped in a thick wool blanket on a foam mattress that may as well have been a fluffy cloud. All she could see from her recessed berth was a sparsely furnished cabin, the only thing she could hear the quiet rumble of a Dust-engine reverberating through metal all around her. Dull grey light filtered in from a dirty circular window, which she eventually realized was a porthole. There was a slight sway to the world, and past the coppery tang of blood in her mouth, Yang thought she could taste salt in the air.

 _I'm… on a boat?_

More pain flared in her stomach when she tred to sit up. Yang lifted the blanket and saw that her lower torso had been dressed with fresh bandages, a small red stain of blood spreading through the gauze on her left side.

 _Oh…_

She lowered the blankets and gingerly laid back down, trying to push the memory of the battle with Raven out of her mind.

But she couldn't get the image out her head.

All she could do was lay there, sore and unmoving, watching those last moments loop around in her head.

" _The strong… live… The weak… die…"_

" _Those are the rules."_

Yang winced as she struggled to breath through the pain and felt tears streaming down her cheeks.

But when she went to wipe them away, her hands came up dry.

"It's gonna' be okay." A familiar, gentle voice said from her side.

Yang saw Spade sitting beside her, his face obscured by shadow.

"Get some rest Yang." He said quietly.

Spade placed a real hand on her arm as she started to fade back into unconsciousness.

 _"Just rest..."_


	23. Hidden

**Chapter 23:**

 **Hidden**

"All aboard!" The uniformed conductor called out over the din of the portside train station. "Last call for the train to Fallsburg!"

Yang stepped out of the crowd waiting on the platform and showed him the ticket pulled up on her Scroll. He peered at it and nodded over his shoulder, directing her to a nearby passenger car that Yang noticed with relief was designated smoking-allowed. She took a seat in the rear with her back to a wall. A few minutes later, the train got underway, leaving the coastal plain of eastern Vale behind and bound for the Forever Fall Forest to the north.

She'd woken up onboard the merchant ship a few days before it entered port. How she had gotten there, she no idea. Everything between Higanbana and waking up days later was a blur. All she'd known was that she was safe and out of immediate danger. The ship's crew had let her be and brought her food whenever she'd asked, which was rarely. Yang had spent much of the voyage in bed, never leaving her cabin and trying not to think about what happened.

And trying not to look in the mirror.

Yang didn't know what was going on. She'd hadn't heard anything from Wintergreen or anyone else back in Mistral. In fact, no one seemed to. As far as she could tell, all communication to and from Anima had been cut off.

It had been about two weeks, and so far, nothing.

Settling into her seat, Yang took stock of what little she had. She had nothing but her Scroll, a pouch full of Lien, and the clothes on her back. The only thing she'd spent any money on was the train ticket and just enough food to keep her on her feet. Yang was saving the rest for when she got to Fallsburg.

For the first time in what felt like a long time, she was on her own.

Again.

 _Back on the run. Just me against the world._

 _Wintergreen will…_

Yang felt her thoughts choke themselves off. Her trust in Wallace Wintergreen, The Boss, the man who'd saved her, trained her, and gave her a second chance, was all but gone. He'd kept her in the dark about Spade. About sending him after Raven. About him dying. And that wasn't to mention starting a war with Atlas. How could she go back to following Wintergreen's orders after that? How could she trust him again?

 _How can I trust anyone again?_

With no answer, she just lit a cigarette and stared out the window as the landscape rolled past and the reflection of empty, crimson eyes stared back at her.

Eventually, as the sun began to set on the horizon on the opposite side of the train from her, the green leaves began to turn red. The train had reached the edge of the Forever Fall Forest. Fallsburg was just a few more hours away.

After that, she had no clue what she would do or where she would go.

As she began to fall asleep under the descending dark, Yang dreamed of hiding in a forest stained red with blood.

* * *

Heian pushed aside the cobalt curtain covering the tavern entrance and stepped in out of the pouring rain. He'd had the opportunity to visit the city of Mistral, or what was left of it after the Fall of Haven, in the midst of the ongoing battle for Anima. The fighting had not reached the besieged kingdom's capitol, and Heian intended to keep it that way. He did not need Mistral to fall just yet. There were things happening away from the front that required his attention, particularly regarding the desperate and flailing Council who'd turned to him and his forces when they could not provide security to their own people.

Now, with two foreign armies fighting on their doorstep, he would gladly give them his solution.

 _Time to remind them of what they never should have forgotten._

 _But first things first._

He had also come to Mistral for information. His intelligence-gathering organization, headed by Sergeants Doppler and Thorn of Wintergreen's cadre, was now fully committed to the campaign against Atlas. Their sources and contacts would be better utilized in support of the military operation rather than Heian's personal vendetta. He knew where his priorities must ultimately lay if his mission was to succeed.

But there was something he had to know, and Heian had intelligence sources of his own to tap.

Heian walked into the dim taproom, taking note of the suspicious glances cast in his direction as he made his way toward the back to the table facing the entrance. A heavy-set blond woman dressed richly in purple and white was eating yogurt parfait from a chipped clay cup, casually watching him approach along with numerous other eyes, including those of the two guards at her side. She set her spoon back in the cup and pushed the dessert aside, her mouth widening in a familiar, dangerous smile that Heian had learn to both fear and respect from an early age.

"Heian, it's been far too long mah boy." Lil' Miss Malachite greeted him warmly, extending her hand in a gesture for him to sit. "Way I hear it, you're the one keeping us all safe from them northern raiders. Really moved up in the world, mah little street urchin."

"Miss Malachite." Heian bowed his head politely and took his seat across from her. "As much as I would enjoy exchanging pleasantries, I must be brief. There is a war going on. I will not waste your precious time."

Miss Malachite's smile widener even further. She'd always enjoyed their little game of subtle warnings and veiled threats. If Heian had read her words right, then she knew that he was the one controlling the vast mercenary army currently engaged with Atlesian forces across Anima. Despite all the effort he'd gone through to conceal himself behind the scenes, Heian was far from surprised. It was Miss Malachite's business to know all that went on in Mistral, and her spider's web of many eyes and ears stretched far and wide beyond the city's walls.

But Heian was not afraid of her or her vast network of informants. Malachite knew that if wasn't for him, then she and hers would not survive the storm waiting just over the horizon. It struck Heian how their positions had come to be reversed. As a child, alone and struggling to survive in the shadows of Mistral's underworld, he had relied on her for protection in exchange for being another spider in her web. Now, she relied on him to keep Atlas from destroying her entire criminal operation in the crossfire of his war.

And by saying he did not want to waste her time, he'd made it clear that she should not _his_.

"Well, I'll not hold you up then." Malachite said, taking his threat in stride. "What can I do ya for?"

Heian withdrew his Scroll, set it down on the table, and pulled up a picture taken four years ago during the Vytal Festival.

"I'm looking for this woman."

Miss Malachite studied the picture for a long moment, then threw her head back and laughed.

"Well, mah dear boy, you certainly are single-minded. You ever find your momma?"

Heian's eyes narrowed darkly, and he responded by setting a generous stack of Lien cards on the table.

"Hmph. Cute." Malachite said, looking less than impressed. "Give us a week. We'll find your sister."

Without another word, Heian picked up his scroll and stood to leave. As he stepped back out onto the muddy Mistral street, he adjusted the microbead in his right ear and tuned his Scroll to the frequency of the small recording transmitter he'd discretely left under the table. The background noise of the tavern came through loud and clear over the downpour outside, and the female guard who had stood at Miss Malachite's side was the first to speak.

" _Lil' Miss, we already know where she is. That guy with the eyepatch asked us about her two weeks ago."_

" _I know we know. But what we don't know is why he paid us not to tell him…"_

As soon as he heard the words, Heian froze in his tracks.

 _He knew._

Heian stood there, letting the revelation fall on him like the rain, and started putting pieces together. If there was someone who could find anyone in Mistral it was Lil' Miss Malachite. And Wintergreen was nothing if not thorough. If he had been actively searching for Yang, then he would have come to consult Malachite, sooner or later.

He might have only known two weeks ago, after Yang killed Raven in Higanbana.

Or he might have known ever since the Fall of Haven.

 _Well then…_

 _What are you hiding, Captain?_

* * *

Almost a month and a half after he'd set out to find Raven in Mistral, Qrow was back at Beacon. He had parted ways with Sven after their ship somehow made it into port without getting shot up or boarded by Atlas troops. They'd decided it was better that they split up. Qrow's luck and Sven's nigh-supernatural ability to start conflict wherever he went were likely to start an international incident, and he'd made it clear that he'd prefer to stay out of the whole affair now that his obligation to Raven was finished. Qrow needed to report to Ozpin as soon as possible anyway.

And deliver the news about Yang.

Qrow found Ruby, Weiss, and Blake walking across campus to their next class sometime around noon. The girls looked like the slightly jaded but excited fourth-years he and the rest of Team STRQ must have, way back in the day. They had that look of half-gratefulness that it was almost over and hopeful optimism for the future.

Even in Yang's absence over the past three years, in spite of everything they'd lost and almost lost, they'd gotten on with training to be Huntresses and living the very best that they could.

Life had gone on.

 _How do I tell them Yang's never coming back? How can I do this to Ruby?_

 _Again…_

Qrow sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, Ruby and the others had disappeared inside a classroom building. He sighed again and pulled out his flask, absently sipping whiskey as he fought desperately against his indecision. They deserved to know the truth. They _needed_ to know the truth.

 _But…_

"I presume you did not find her then." A voice said at his side.

Qrow looked up and found Ozpin standing next to him, staring ahead with a blank expression on his face.

"No. But I found Raven…"

He spent the next hour telling Ozpin about what happened. The Headmaster listened intently, offering no comment as Qrow described Wintergreen and Raven's plan, his subsequent encounter with Heian, the surprise Atlas invasion, and Sven's brief reappearance. Once he was finished, Ozpin remained thoughtfully silent for a long time before speaking.

"Hmmm… A number of interesting and worrying developments, to say the very least. And this all occurred half a month ago?"

"Yeah. It took me almost two weeks to get across the sea and then across the kingdom. I literally landed in Vale a few hours ago. Why?"

Ozpin stiffened slightly, and Qrow started to get a sinking feeling.

"We… have had no news of Atlas invading Mistral."

Qrow blinked, not quite sure he'd heard that right. How could Atlas hide the large-scale, heavily contested military invasion of another kingdom from the entire world for over two weeks?

And then he understood, and Qrow turned his head to stare at the Vale Cross-Continental Transmit Tower.

"They can literally write the whole story." Qrow said, the realization sending a chill down his spine. "Oz, Atlas controls the whole CCT network. They can say whatever they want and no one on Remnant will ever know the truth until it's too late."

"People will always find ways to communicate, Qrow." Ozpin said, his voice holding even and calm. "Letters are still delivered by hand after all."

The door to the class building opened and students started streaming out. Team RWBY exited the building toward the back of the crowd, talking amongst themselves about something that was probably related to lunch. Ozpin smiled softly for a moment as he watched them, then his expression turned flat and distant again as he turned to face Qrow.

"On the subject of messages. Will you tell them the truth?"

Qrow's face turned dark and unsure.

"I don't know…"

Ozpin nodded.

"I have hidden many things from others in my time, Qrow. Many things that, perhaps, they might have been better off knowing even when my reasons for doing so seemed just and necessary at the time. I, of all people, have no right to tell you what you should do. But please, do what you think is best. For their sake."

Ozpin turned to leave, then paused, not turning to look back at Qrow.

"After all, it is all any of us can do."

He walked away, leaving Qrow to make his decision.

 _What do I say…?_

 _What do I tell her…?_

"UNCLE QROW!"

Before he could even blink, a flurry of rose petals appeared before his eyes and Ruby was clinging to his arm like she did as a little kid. She looked up at him with a warm, happy smile that could've melted Solitas ice in the deep of winter, her silver eyes gleaming with a light that looked like it would never go out regardless of what he said or did or what the world threw at her.

"Hey kiddo." Qrow said, forcing himself to smile and ruffled her hair like he used to. Weiss and Blake came over, their faces worried but hopeful. Ruby pulled away and looked around, hoping to finally see her sister again after so long apart.

Qrow felt a deep ache in his heart as he watched Ruby's hope fade to one last, terribly thin thread.

"You didn't find her, did you?" Ruby asked quietly.

 _How can I tell her?_

"Uncle Qrow…?"

"I…" Qrow started to say, then felt the words freeze in his throat.

 _How can I tell her this lie?_

He sighed once more, then simply shook his head.

"I… didn't find Yang."

He left it at that, and Qrow knew he'd hate himself for it for the rest of his life.

 _I'm sorry Ruby. You can't know the truth. Not now. Maybe someday._

 _But not today…_


End file.
